Mega Man 3: Return Of The Forsaken
by Magus523
Summary: Dr. Wily has been released, and appears to be sane again. However, the Third Robot Rebellion has been started, and Wily claims to be blameless. Can Mega Man stop the Rebellion and find the culprit before it's too late? Novelization.
1. Prologue

**__**

Prologue 

"You're kidding me, doc!" Two men walked down the grey prison corrider. One was obviously a doctor, with his white lab coat, clipboard and studious face. The other was equally obviously a politician, with suit, graying hair and a face that could form a million-dollar smile. At this time, though, he was shouting instead of smiling. "You want to let that madman out?!" 

"All the tests show that the effects of the teleporting have receded greatly, up to a point where what little damage remains can be controlled by medicine, Mr. Richolds." The scientest said patiently. The politician, Donald Richolds, sighed. 

"Okay, let's go over this one more time. Dr. Wily was the greatest threat to this world since the Wars of 2040. His first attack involved him seizing six critical points with robotic armies, dooming the world unless they could be recovered quickly. To be specific, Cutman, Gutsman, Iceman, Fireman, Bombman and Elecman. Eventually, his army was destroyed by Megaman, who then proceeded to attack Wily's Skull Fortress. He succeeded, apprehended Wily and brought him here. After a while, Wily was cleared of his crimes by reason of insanity. On his part, not the jury's, although I wonder about that. At any rate, he was released under guard. And the first thing he did was build himself a teleporter and zap away to a second Skull Fortress, where he built 8 more robot masters as well as a new army, and went over the whole shebang all over again! Metalman, Bubbleman, Heatman, Woodman, Airman, Crashman, Flashman and Quickman. Again, Megaman blew them up, nabbed Wily and threw him back in here. And now you're telling me he's 'gotten better?'" 

"The tests show..." Dr. Cedric Froid began. He was interrupted by the angry politician. 

"'The tests show! The tests show!' I'm sick of the tests! If you want me to support this, you're gonna have to show me some hard physical evidence, doc! Because right now, I'm more convinced we should leave the bugger to rot! I want to see this for myself, okay?!" 

"Very well then." The scientest said, as they walked towards Wily's cell. He wasn't worried about the vehemence of the politician. _Typical leading politician_; Froid thought. _His brain's unviolated by thought. He probably had that little speech written for him by his toadies. So he wants to see Wily? Fine. Simple answers for a simple mind. _They stopped in front of a cell, and the doctor gestured to it. The politician peeked in... and almost had a heart attack. Sitting on the bed, was the infamous Dr. Albert Wily, the man who had tried to enslave the world with robotic armies of death. He sat with a contented expression on his aged face. His grey hair was frizzed out on either side of his bald dome, and he wore a short mustache. In front of him was a Tv... playing the late 20th century Disney move, Bambi. Wily looked up; his eyes were as calm as his face, with no traces of insanity. 

"Good evening gentlemen." His voice was even and courteous, nothing like the insane screech which his speech would normally hold since his descent into insanity. "How are you doing today?" Froid watched as Donald stumbled backwards. 

_A little obvious... definately crude... but then again, this isn't a very sophisticated audience. If bamboozling this moron is what it takes to free Wily, then it's done. This grotesque little display wouldn't work on most people. Good thing he's so thick. _

The politician slowly backed away, trembling all over. "I... I'll see what I can do, doc." 

Doctor Cedric Froid smiled. 


	2. Chapter 1: Labward Bound

**__**

Chapter 1: Labward Bound

__

"After his second Robot Rebellion was thwarted by Mega Man, Doctor Albert Wily was committed to an asylum under the care of Dr. Cedric Froid. Eventually, Dr. Froid claimed to have cured the madman's insanity, and wished to have him freed..." -Dr. James Cain, Reploids And Their Place In Society

"It's funny." Roll muttered. Her brother, Rock, looked up from the Tv.

"Eh?"

"It's funny... one of the things he himself said before he went bonkers applies perfectly here." She explained. Rock thought for a moment, remembering his early months.

"The one about the limitless ability of humans to commit mass stupidity?"

"Bingo." Roll sighed, watching the politician on the screen give his speech-in-a-can. From this conversation, an unknowing bystander would think these two were just normal adolescents at the age of around 13 or 14. Indeed, they looked perfectly human; Rock sat on the couch in shorts and a t-shirt, his black hair uncombed; Roll wore a red dress and blond hair tied back. However, Rock and Roll were not human at all; they were both highly advanced robots, almost capable of complete self-will. Created by Dr. Albert Light and Dr. Albert Wily, the two were members of a breed of robot known as Robot Masters, and unlike most of those, they were completely human to the eye. Although their bodies were of steel and their minds of circuitry, they were akin to humans in every way, save the restraining force of the Three Laws of Robotics. And when danger threatened to bind the world, Rock strode forth as Mega Man, the robotic savior of the world. But for now, they were just two more teenaged kids, watching the television on yet another lazy Sunday afternoon. But where normal teenagers would watch MTV, Rock and Roll observes a far more important display.

"Dr. Albert William Wily is cured! I have seen it with my own eyes!" Donald Richolds preached on the television. "Professor Froid has cured him of his insanity!"

"Idiot." Rock spat bitterly. "Remember the last time they said Wily had been cured or something? He just went and tried to conquer the world again." Roll nodded, then got to her feet.

"Well, sitting around watching this isn't getting anything done. I might as well get back to work. You should too, Rock."

"I will in a moment. I want to see how this plays out." Roll spun, ready to deliver an acidic reply, but stopped it on her lips at the last second. _If anyone deserves to watch Wily's fate, it's him. She realized. After those two robot rebellions... ACK!_ Not watching where she was going, Roll had tripped over Eddie, the loyal little suitcase robot who carried tools and paperwork for the family. Rock turned his head around at the noise, saw what had happened, and began laughing hysterically-a rarity among these gloomy days. Roll groaned and got back up from her tumble.

"Okay, Eddie. Waddaya got for us?" The little robot turned the crank that opened his storage compartment. Inside was a note addressed to them from their father, the world-renowned robotics genius, Doctor Thomas Light. Roll sat back down on the couch and began reading through it, with her brother scanning it over her shoulder. Normally, this would have annoyed the female robot to no end, but at the moment she was too preoccupied to clear him off.

__

Rock, Roll

I suppose there's no more beating around the bush with all that's going on. I'm going to go visit Al and see for myself if this is true-if he really is cured. I know you'd try to stop me-probably say it's too dangerous, or insist on coming along. But I need to do this, and I need to do it alone. Which is why I told Eddie to wait at least half an hour after I left before delivering this. I'll see you when I get back. And Roll, please try not to scream TOO loud.

Thomas Light

"He's good." Rock observed as his sister howled with rage.

"Of all the stupid, moronic, irresponsible-ARRRRRGH!" Roll screeched and began cursing in binary, then fell silent. "...Okay, I've got it all out of my system now. I'm going to go work on that new project."

"The secret one?" Rock rolled his eyes. "The one you and Dr. Light refuse to tell me about?"

"That's the one!" She grinned. "When Dr. Light gets back, tell him to come up. I'd like to discuss this note with him... at some length." With that, she stomped upstairs. Rock watched her go and rolled his eye again.

"Robotic or not... WOMEN!"

"Hello, Cedric. How are you doing?" Dr. Light smiled as he greeted his colleague. Thomas Light was a friendly, somewhat portly man in his fifties; his hair and beard were both prematurely a silver-white, although his eyebrows remained inexplicably black. He was widely known as the greatest genius ever to grace the field of robotics, with his invention of the Robot Masters.

"Fine, thank you." The other man, Dr. Cedric Froid, said calmly. "It's been a while. I assume you're here to see... him?" The smile faded from Thomas Light's face.

"That's right..." The two men began walking down the halls. "I hope that your analysis hasn't been influenced in any way by..."

"...by how Albert's an old family friend like you?" Cedric asked. "Don't worry. I can assure you that has no effect on my analysis. I think Dr. Wily really is cured this time."

"Hmm... we'll see." Light mumbled, and Froid smiled.

"Trust me." The two doctors began walking down the halls. "So... how's Rock doing?"

"He's... not doing too well." Light admitted. "He doesn't approve of releasing Wily... all of his remaining feelings for him were burnt away by the Second Robot Rebellion. He thinks this is just another play along the same lines... that Wily's just trying to get out so he can do it all again."

"But you have to remember, Tom," Froid argued. "It's not his fault. He was insane, thanks to that teleporter accident. And I've cured that. He's back to the way he was before-the way you've known him for most of your lives."

"I know that, and you know that." The older scientest agreed. "But neither of us had to face him down twice, putting our lives on the line. Rock's very skeptical, and I can't really blame him for it."

"You did your share of things like that too, you know; albeit in a much different way." Froid reminded him. "I know more than anybody else... I'll never forget when you..." Light paused in his walking and looked at his colleague, his face pained.

"Please, Cedric... don't bring that up. I've forgotten that time of my life... it's gone. I was another person then."

"If you insist." The two men did not speak again until they reached Wily's cell. "Here we are. Albert... you have a visitor." Inside the cell, the form lying on a dirty cot stirred and rose, and Doctor Light looked into the eyes of his friend, Doctor Albert Wily.

"Hello, Tom." Wily said softly. "It's been a while."

"Yes it has, Al." Light agreed. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, it's a blast." Wily smiled sardonically. "When I'm not wondering whether I want to die from starvation or prison food poisoning, or trying to count how many deadly bacteria there are on the bed and toilet, I like to spend hours on end mentally pummeling myself for trying to bend the world into slavery-twice." He laughed. "Who could ask for anything more?"

"Well, you've still got your sense of humor." Light noted.

"It's my greatest attribute." The criminal doctor agreed, then sobered. "All right, Tom. Enough clever wordplay. I assume you're here about the possibility of me being freed?"

"That's one reason, yes..." Light said slowly. Wily groaned.

"Please, Tom, don't do that. We both know it's the only reason; your friend was the sane Dr. Wily and your enemy the insane one. You're here to discover which I am now."

"Well? Which are you?"

"You're asking me? Ha. Haven't you heard? The crazy people never think they're crazy."

"Answer it, Al. Do you think you should be freed?" Light asked.

"Bag of worms, Tom. If I'm freed, I think I can stop myself from going cuckoo again; but if I'm not, I probably deserve it. And even if I was, there are thousands out there who want me dead just for the hell of it." Wily shook his head. "Either way, I don't think life has much in store for me that's good. I'm screwed if I do, and I'm screwed if I don't. And after what I've done, I'd say it's pretty justified."

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but you'll have to wrap it up." Dr. Froid informed them. "I had a hard enough time getting the higher-ups to agree to this meeting as is; I couldn't get much time."

"All right." Light sighed. "So, Al... what'll you do if you're freed?"

"What will I do?" His former partner wondered. "I'm not sure... probably go to some deserted place and be a hermit. Although I wish I could continue in robotics... so I could build a robot that would keep the world safe from people like me." He turned away from the door. "Goodbye, Tom."

"Is this on EVERY channel?" Rock complained. No matter which one he chose, it was always the same thing; Donald Richolds yapping.

"-a contributing member of society!" The politician finished his speech. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present Dr. Cedric Froid, the man who has cured Dr. Albert Wily!" Rock frowned as the psychologist walked onscreen; he had thought Dr. Froid would be supervising-

"Rock! Roll! I'm home!" Ahh, that explains it; they were finished already. Rock looked up at his father as the doctor entered.

"Hey. How'd it go?"

"You're not angry?" The doctor asked, surprised. Rock smiled.

"No, that's Roll's job. She's been working on it pretty hard; I think she's invented a few new curses just for you."

"Great." Light groaned. "I guess I'll go on up and get that out of the way before we talk." The scientest went into the laboratory, and Rock smiled as he heard his sister release her storm of temper.

"I wonder how long she'll go on." Rock thought. After about five minutes, Roll and Light came back out into the living room, trailed by Eddie. Rock turned off the television.

"Okay. How'd it go?" Light passed a weary hand over his face.

"Sigh... look, Rock..."

"I'm not asking you to try and convince me." The robot growled, dropping his indifferent air. "I want you to tell me what YOU think."

"Fine." Light snapped back, equally angry. "He looked... well, he looked sane. That's not very descriptive, but it'll have to do. The last time, it was fairly obvious that it hadn't worked. This time, though... he was aware of the things he had done and seemed to understand how horrible they were. A lot of guilt, although he tried to hide it. You know Al."

"You mean, I know WILY." Rock corrected.

"No, Rock. He was a lot more like himself before the accident. He's even regained that sardonic attitude of his that he passed on to Roll."

"That just struck up a funny thought." Roll grinned. "Me and Rock. We don't have a mother, but we have two fathers."

"HEY!" Light spluttered as Rock nearly busted a gut. "Roll, you had better not be suggesting what I think you are."

"What if I am?" She shot back. An evil grin crept across Dr. Light's face.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'll switch your brain with Eddie's. You might find it fun being the size of a soccer ball for a while." The little suitcase robot glanced up at the mention of his name, and Roll went white.

"You WOULDN'T!"

"Try me."

"Okay, okay." Rock waved further conversation aside. "That was a nice little moment of joking to let up on the tension, but let's return to the topic at hand. What about this doctor, Cedric Froid? Is he trustworthy?"

"Oh, yes." Light nodded. "The Froids are very long friends of mine, since I was ten or so. His father was in the Second Rainbow; the oldest member; he was at least 90. The elder Dr. Froid was the chief designer of the Water Purification Plant at New Shirewick. I'm sure you remember that place, Rock."

"Yes." The robot said glumly, pushing back memories of his battle with Ice Man.

"At any rate, Cedric was never that good with science... he preferred psychology. Even after his father passed away, both Al and I were welcome in their house; we had visited a lot during the days of the Second Rainbow and we knew the whole family. But Cedric's a very good man; his judgement isn't affected by this, Roll, so don't even bother asking."

"How'd you know I was going to ask that?" Roll demanded. Light chuckled.

"I know you. Besides, I already asked him the same thing!"

"So you think it's for real." Rock concluded. "You think he's really sane again."

"Well... yes." Light sighed. "I'm still not completely convinced, but I'm leaning towards it."

"And how are his chances of actually being released?" Roll asked her brother. "You've been watching the television."

"Well, whoever's writing those speeches for that idiot Richolds is very good." Rock reported. "He's falling back on the Second Rainbow, on how much Wily did then, as well as how it was a teleporter accident that caused all this; how Wily's deeds were a result of insanity, that he wasn't truly evil. He's also bringing up Froid's record, saying that of all the psychologists in the world, Froid has the best chance of fixing him, and did it." The robot snorted. "Personally, I think it's all hogwash, but the people are buying it. Currently, I'd put his chance at being released at... about 63." Nobody responded.

"Well, standing around here all day won't get anything done." Roll decided finally. "I'm going back to work on you-know-what. Coming, dad?"

"Sure." Light smiled. "Rock, that means you have to stay out of the lab for a while. Why don't you go down to the newstand and see what the papers are saying?"

"All right." Rock walked out, and his father and sister went into the lab.

"Welding torch."

"Welding torch!"

"Wrench."

"Wrench!"

"Toilet plunger."

"Toilet plun-hey!" Roll yelled. Dr. Light stood up, chucking.

"I was wondering if you'd notice."

"You're an absolute laugh riot." Roll said sarcastically, pretending to chuck the instrument at his head. Light ducked, then sat back down and bent over the project again.

"Roll, you can be a marvel of ill temper. It almost reminds me of..." He stopped. Roll raised an eyebrow.

"Of what?"

"Of when Al and I were building you, Rock and the others."

"Oooooohh..."

"Back then, all we saw was hope and dreams for the future. We never thought the robot masters could be used for evil. Sometimes I think that maybe we should never have..."

"Are you saying your regret building me and Rock?" Roll asked angrily, and a little hurt. Light waved her down.

"No, no, no. The two of you are the family I never had. But the others... sometimes I think the world would be better if mass-produced Robot Masters never existed... it would cut down on the death rate, at least."

"And Blues? Where does he fit in?" Roll pressed. She was always eager to learn more about the mysterious older brother she had never known.

Before Rock and Roll were created, there had been Blues; the first, prototype self-aware robot. Dr. Light didn't talk much about him, and most of his story was a mystery to Rock and Roll, a mystery Roll was determined to unlock. He had vanished forever in a teleporter accident before Rock and Roll were built; the same accident that had eventually diven Dr. Wily to insanity and led him to attempting takeovers of the world with his robotic armies. Light frowned, thinking about the question.

"Blues... I don't know, Roll. He was always an enigma... kept secrets. And he disappeared long before any of you were made. And it's been several years since he disappeared... I can't really hope for his survival any more." The doctor cursed as he slipped, twisting a circuit. "Damn!"

"But why do you regret the Robot Masters now?" The female robot asked. "You think Wily's sane. And if he is, there won't be any more problems with the Robot Masters, will there?"

"Do you think he's the only man in the world with insane ambitions?" Light demanded. "The only person with mad dreams of death and destruction, and the skills to make them come true? No, Roll. More Robot Rebellions will come. Maybe not by his hands, but they will come." Roll frowned.

"So we'll..." Light cut her off in mid-sentence.

"Roll, Rock's been put through that ordeal twice already! We can't ask him to fight forever!"

"So what do we do?" Roll shouted. "Build a new robot! Make a machine that CAN do it all and save the world as many times as are needed!"

"No sentient robot would agree to that, Roll." Light reminded her. "And if it did-if it WANTED to keep fighting and fighting and fighting more-then it would be just as great a threat as the Robot Masters!"

Roll didn't respond, and silence reigned in the lab for a great time after that as the scientest and his robotic daughter worked diligently on what was soon to become the next member of their family.

"Hey, everybody! Big news!" Rock called as he returned to the house. Roll and Dr. Light came out of the lab.

"What is it?" Roll asked. In reply, Rock gave her the newspaper. Screaming across the headlines was "DR. WILY HEARING SCHEDULED!"

"So they're giving him a hearing..." She muttered grimly, reading on. "It's scheduled for one week from now. Froid and Richolds will be doing all they can to make it succeed. And they've got influence; there's no doubt about that. They may just be able to pull it off."

"I believe we've already discussed this subject." Dr. Light said wearily. "I don't want to talk about this any more. Is there anything else interesting in the news, Rock?"

"Yup." Rock nodded. "It seems Sennet Robotics is still dropping." Sennet Robotics was the main competitor of Lighttech in the field of robotics. However, they really hadn't been matching up since their equivalent to Dr. Light, Dr. Sergei Cossack, had resigned in protest to the manufacture of Warbots. They had a total of eight Robot Master designs, but none were selling very well; the public was still quite leery on the concept of Robot Masters after two Rebellions. Thus, Sennet Robotics was steadily slipping closer and closer to bankruptcy.

"So their newest model of Robot Master was as unsuccessful as the others?" Light asked. Sennet Robotics' newest Robot Master was the Spinstrike Model, a yellow-orange robot capable of intense speeds. The others were the Magnus Model, a pink robot that used magentic forces to rip valuable metals from out of the ground; the Ripwood Model, a lumberjack robot originally designed to compete with Lighttech's Achilles Model; the Gemini Model, which could fire intense laser beams and synthesize a temporary duplicate of itself; the Zapplug Model, which absorbed and redirected intense amounts of electricity; the Smashbody Model, which crushed mass amounts into slag quickly with its powerful frame; the Serpos model, which created and controlled complex miniature search-and-retrieve robots at a moment's notice; and the humerously-named Pinhead Model, a Warbot who fired machine-gun-like projectiles which could impale targets many times over in just a few seconds.

"Yeah," Rock replied, reading on about the Spinstrike Model. "Says here there was a flaw in their programming... they're too erratic." He frowned. "They don't seem worried about their dropping sales, though... it's almost as if they've got some secret plan or something."

"The hearing for the release of Doctor Albert Wily is now in session." The bailiff announced. "All rise for the honorable Judge Arvis." The judge took his seat, and the others in the courthouse followed.

"Mister Stravinsky, I believe you may go first." The judge said, and the lawyer he was addressing stood up. He was a large, solid man with dark brown hair and a bullying attitude. Clearing his throat once, he began to speak.

"When I first heard of this hearing, I thought somebody was playing a joke on me. A gag. After all, how could I honestly be expected to believe that Doctor Albert Wily, the madman who tried to enslave the world under his totalitarian armies of robotic death, might actually be released AGAIN? Need I remind you that this man has already been released from incarceration once, and that, in gratitude for this act of mercy, he constructed a second army of machines and attempted to bring about his reign of desruction once more? Had he succeeded, on either occasion, this courthouse would no longer exist. Nor, likely, would this entire city. Doctor Albert Wily's robots have commited many atrocities in his name. Many of us who are gathered here today have lost loved ones to the murderous machines commanded by him. The territories he had taken have still not completely recovered, and the numbers of the dead still not confirmed. And the sites of his two control centers of chaos, the twin Skull Fotresses, shall remain unhabitable by man for many centuries; for in order to destroy them, humanity was required to use nuclear weapons, a measure forbidden to us since the Third World War."

__

That's the only time we'll hear mention of the Third World War in his speech; Donald Richolds thought grimly. _He wants to stay far away from what Wily did beforehand. _Contrary to what many believed, Donald Richolds was not nearly as stupid as he acted. He had learned early on that a politician who could think for himself was not welcome, so he had played the fool, pretending to let his toadies and sycophants decide his actions, making sure to plant just enough seemingly dull ideas in order to steer _their_ thoughts towards his, making them think _they_ were manipulating him, and smiling like a cretin the whole while. Richolds knew that Dr. Froid thought him an imbecile, and he was able to use that well. That gross little display at the prison that had "convinced" him had undoubtably been worked out by the Froid & Wily beforehand. Richolds reluctantly concluded that he himself exaggerrated his part a little bit; it was a wonder Wily & Froid hadn't spotted it. In reality, Richolds had made up his mind on freeing Wily long before, based on some long-ago "contributions" by the good doctor, in exchange for some future favors, should the need ever arise. Albert Wily was no fool, and Richolds now intended to pay those debts. The politician cut short his rambling and returned his attention to his opponent's blathering.

" What of all those who were hurt, crippled, or worse as a result of this lunatic's ambitions? How, in good conscience, can we release a man who has done all this, and doubtless urges to do so again, and again, and again, as many times as we allow him to, like foolish sheep who invited a wolf in for tea and wonder where everybody keeps disappearing to? The answer: we cannot. I implore you, do not allow this to come to pass. Do not free Dr. Albert Wily. Do not bring death and destruction upon the heads of this world again." Stravinsky sat down, his speech done, and the crowds applauded.

__

Very nice, Richolds thought sardonically. He had almost believe that it had come straight from the heart, too, until he had seen the triumphant sneer upon Stravinsky's face directed at him during the applause. Unbeknownst to either of them, the judge also saw the expressions on their faces.

"Ahem... order in the court!" Judge Arvis banged his gavel until the crowds had settled down. "Good. Now... Mister Richolds, who will be representing your side?"

"I will be representing Dr. Wily." Richolds announced, and smiled inside at the gasps of surprise. "I was a lawyer before entering politics, and I was never removed from the bar."

"Very well then, Mister Richolds." The judge said with an odd gleam in his eye. "You may speak." The politician rose to his feet.

"My friends, you have all heard the spectacular and, of course, completely unbiased opinions of our friend, Mr. Stravinsky. However, by some oversight which was accidental, I'm sure, Mr. Stravinsky forgot to talk of the period of Dr. Wily's life _before_ the teleporter accident which drove him to his actions. Let me take you back to a time when the world was in danger... not from hordes of robots, but from our own hands. Let me take you back to the year 2040. The time... of the Third World War. Nuclear weapons were used in horrendously stupid amounts, as every country in the world insanely attempted to stomp out all others. This continued, unabated, until the very end, at which point the world finally woke up, and everybody realzed exactly what they had unleashed... what they had almost done. As one, the countries of Earth immediately cancelled all hostilities, and bent all their resources to a new goal; to bring this world back from the brink of death. To this end, the leading scientests the world over were compiled into an organization whose name would forever reign through history... The Second Rainbow. Together, these scientests labeled nonstop to address the issues we had brought on ourselves. Many of them are still known today... Doctor Yuri Cossack, Doctor Felman Murges, Doctor Joseph Cain, Doctor Georges Shaler, Doctor Thomas Light... and Doctor Albert Wily. Doctors Light and Wily were a team beyond any others in the Second Rainbow; together, their genius in robotics was unmatched. Even after the Second Rainbow was disbanded, Light and Wily continued creating wonders of mechanics. Their ultimate product was the Robot Masters." Richolds paused for dramatic effect.

"Now, who among you can honestly say that you have never made a mistake? That you have never erred, even once? True, you may say, that none of the errors were on such a grand scale as the Robot Rebellions. But that is not the only difference. The Robot Rebellions WERE NOT DR. WILY'S FAULT. They were not the result of conscious malice, but were instead spawned of an accident, beyond anybody's control. The first Robot Master was a prototype who the doctors named Blues. One day, Light, Wily and Blues were testing new technology... teleportation. This technology is unsafe for human usage; it affects the brain, bringing insanity to whoever uses it. Blues was meant to be teleported, but the safeuards failed, and Wily was caught in it as well. Blues was lost, never to be seen again, and Wily, although he did not know it, had been affected mentally by it. Slowly, he went insane and launched the Rebellions." He paused again.

"But now, friends, this machine-induced evil has been purged from the mind of Doctor Albert Wily! Dr. Cedric Froid, the renowned psychologist son of Dr. Seymour Froid of the Second Ranbow, has found a cure for Teleportation Insanity! Doctor Wily has been returned to sanity, and the evils of his madness are gone forever. He is aware of what he has done, and strives to make amends. But we must free him in order to allow him to do so! The Dr. Wily of the Rebellions is gone, and the Dr. Wily of the Second Rainbow has returned to us. This man is not the maniac who tried to rule the world; he is a savior, one of the blessed humans who rescued us from the hands of death which we inflicted on ourselves. Shall we reward his service to the globe with incarceration? The sacrifices he made with imprisonment? No! We cannot do this, for if we do, can we honestly say that we should not share his fate? In the Third World War humanity nearly destroyed our existence. Nay, we are not equals; we are worse, for while our destruction was fully conscious, Dr. Wily's evils were brought on by something beyond his control. Do not blame him for this. Do not persecute him for something he could not stop. I beg of you... release Dr. Albert Wily." He sat down, and after a moment's shocked silence, the croawd began cheering again, even louder than they had for Stravinsky (who looked unhealthily pale).

"Very well, then." Judge Arvis growled. "Do either of you have anything further to say?" Both shook their heads. "Very well. In that case, I shall now give my verdict on Dr. Albert Wily."

"Well, this is it." Dr. Light said softly. The family had refused to watch the courthouse proceedings, and instead opted to be part of the crowd outside the prison, waiting for the verdict. Many of the other humans in the crowd had pocket televisions and had watched the proceedings from there; however, the cameras had not recorded Judge Arvis's final decision. Nobody was speaking now, as everybody waited in eerie silence outside. The minutes seems to be hours, as no Wily emerged, and no verdict was announced. Finally, after an eternity of waiting, the doors opened, and two policemen came out, with Doctor Albert Wily between them in handcuffs. Behind them were Donald Richolds and Doctor Cedric Froid. All five faced the crowd, their faces blank. Would Dr. Wily be freed, or escorted back to the prison? Every face in the crowd asked the same question as the five stood, immobile. Then, in one movement, the policemen released the handcuffs on Wily and stepped back.

"Dr. Albert Wily is freed!" Donald Richolds shouted triumphantly, and the crowd gave a deafening cheer. The man who had been named looked upwards, with tears filling his aged eyes, thanking whatever god there was for forgiving his sins, and allowing him to set foot into the world once more and atone for his mistakes. Rock sighed bitterly.

"For better or for worse... it has come to pass. I hope that it is true, that he is sane, and that he can again be the friend that I knew long ago..." He turned to his father and his sister as Wily slowly walked down the steps towards them, and the crowd parted. "But somewhere... deep inside... I know that the ordeal is not over yet."

Dr. Light and Roll could not help but agree, but they put those thoughts aside for the moment as Wily reached them, and grabbed Light in a fierce, brotherly embrace. And the crowds cheered again. The partners were reunited.

But one face, out of all that were gathered, did not share in the jubilation of the freedom. As he watched the two doctors meet, this mind rose in glee... but this glee was dark, horrendous, twisted by madness.

__

Enjoy yourself for now, Wily... for soon, you won't be doing anything like that... you won't be doing anything at all, ever again! You, and that little blue interloper too! Both of you will die, die, DIE at my hands! Your blood shall stain my limbs, and your bones will crunch beneath my feet, and your flesh shall tear between my fingers and burn at my will, and your heads will hang on a wall!

Soon... very soon... very soon indeed...


	3. Chapter 2: You Work Sixteen Microchips, ...

**__**

Chapter 2: You Work Sixteen Microchips, And What Do You Get?

"I don't like it." Rock fumed. The doctors had both gone to sleep, and the two robotic siblings were talking. "I don't like it one bit."

"What, him being freed?" Roll inquired. "Well, yeah, I don't either. But there's not much we can do about it now, is there?"

"I'm not talking about that." Rock growled. "I'm talking about how Dr. Light invited him back HERE! I thought I could live with it if he kept clean and I almost never saw him. But to have him in the same house... imagine if he's faking. He could kill all of us in our sleep-or stasis-and then go on another rampage without us to stop him." He sighed. "Maybe I'm just paranoid. I should go into stasis. Here's an idea... one of us should watch him at all times."

"We can't exactly go into his room when he's sleeping, you know." Roll retorted. "Not unless you want Dr. Light to chain you to the couch for ten hours of Miss Manners again." Rock shuddered, remembering the last time that had happened.

"No, thank you. We'll have Eddie do it then; Wily won't notice him, and even if he did, Light didn't program manners into the little guy." Roll nodded, agreeing with the plan.

"Slick. I'll take care of it; you go hit the stasis capsule." As her brother walked upstairs, she smiled and whistled for the robotic suitcase. From the second floor came a clattering of small mechanical feet, followed by a familiar scream. A few seconds later, Rock and Eddie tumbled down the stairs, bounced across the floor and slammed into a wall. Roll laughed as her brother growled and got to his feet.

"You'll pay for that one, Roll..." Still muttering to himself, he stomped back upstairs as the still-giggling Roll began explaining to Eddie.

As Rock walked down the stairs, at first he thought he was seeing things.

"Good morning!" Dr. Wily called cheerfully from his place over at the stove. He was wearing a large, muffin-shaped chef's hat as well as a "Kiss The Cook" apron. "How are you? Did you have any good dreams?"

"No... none..." Rock responded slowly, still confused. On the stove was a skillet filled with eggs, cheese and several different kinds of meat. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Hey... how'd you know about how I have dreams?"

"Light told me, of course." Wily said as he placed the lid on the skillet. "It's the kind of thing one tends to remember... robots don't usually have dreams. It seems I missed out on a lot while I was bats."

"We noticed." Roll said dryly as she walked down the staircase. "Cooking, eh? Been a while since you've done that."

"I noticed." Wily threw Roll's own comment back in her face. "Trust me... prison food has made me want to do a lot more of it. If you ever go there, I suggest you particularly avoid the creamed corn." He shuddered. "Where's Tom?"

"Still asleep, looks like. Hey, Eddie!" The little brown suitcase walked over to Roll. "Go wake up Dr. Light. Use this." From a cabinet she produced a large horn which she put into Eddie's mouth. The little robot wobbled and fell over under the weight, bouncing down the staircase. Wily laughed as he dizzily got back up and dragged the horn up the stairs.

"You might want to consider checking his legs, Roll. His balance seems a little off."

"She can't right now." Rock smiled, preparing a pot of coffee. "Roll and Dr. Light are working on some secret project they won't let me see."

"A secret project, eh?" Wily mused. "I wonder if-" The doctor was cut off in mid-sentence by the blast of sound announcing Eddie's arrival, followed by the sound of Dr. Light yowling in surprise and falling out of bed, which was in turn followed by liberal amounts of cursing. Rock raised an eyebrow at some of the imprecations he heard.

"I didn't know he spoke Dutch."

"Next he'll probably try to learn those binary swear words you two keep using." Wily joked. A few moments later, Dr. Light clomped down the stairs in a blue bathrobe and immediately crossed to the coffee pot. "Morning, Tom."

"Yeghburble..." Dr. Light grumbled as he poured his hot caffeine into what looked more like a beer stein than a coffee cup. As soon as it was full he took a big drink, and when he looked up he was smiling.

"Aah... morning, Al. Rock, Roll. Which one of you sent Eddie?" Rock & Wily immediately pointed at Roll, who mumbled "Snitches."

"Well, then, Roll, I'll have to think of something sufficiently nasty in retaliation. However, in the meantime breakfast is looking very attractive. Al, are you perchance making an omelette? I haven't had a good one in years!"

"What?" Wily asked. "Aren't Rock & Roll good cooks?" Light scoffed.

"Are you kidding? Roll can set something on fire just by looking at it, and Rock... it's best just not to ask."

"Well, then it's a good thing I came around." Wily commented. "You were no great shakes at cooking either... as I recall, your burritos were what made Blues break the second law."

"Those were YOUR burritos!" Light protested.

"Yours!"

"Yours!"

"Yours!"

"Yours!"

"Look at them..." Roll murmured to her brother as they watched the two doctors squabble. "It's almost like old times..."

"Yeah." Rock growled. "I still don't know, though. Let's still keep an eye on him... he could still be faking."

"Meh." Roll said noncomittally. "Hey, you two! That omelette's going to burn if you keep this up!" Dr. Wily paled.

"D'OH!" Yanking off the lid, the doctor breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering that his breakfast was uncharocoalized. "I think it's ready, Tom. Could one of you get the paper? It's been a while since I've read it."

"I'll get it." Roll volunteered, walking outside. A moment later, she returned and gave it to Dr. Wily, who sat down and began eating.

"Come on, Roll. Let's go see what's on the TV." Rock suggested, and the two robots walked out. Dr. Ligh took a portion of the omelette, and the two doctors ate in silence for several minutes.

"Ho!" Dr. Wily suddenly leapt to his feet, pounding on the newspaper with his fist. Light looked up over his plate of omelette.

"What is it, Al?"

"You didn't tell me about what was happening to Sennet Robotics!" Wily chortled. "Just look at that stock drop! I know it's usually considered bad manners to laugh at the failures of one's opponents... but I just got out of prison, so right now I don't care! HA!"

"It certainly looks bad for them." Light agreed. "They probably won't be making any more Robot Masters."

"Good thing, too." Wily said through a mouthful of eggs as he read on. "What is this? 'Spinstrike Model'? It looks like some kind of child's toy!" He looked up. "By the way, is Lighttech still manufacturing the Achilles, Icarus, Orpheus, Helios, Hephaestus and Heracles models?"

"No, we stopped making them after the Rebellion." Light said gloomily. "However, the ones that were already in existence weren't destroyed, so there's still some floating around out there." The two doctors finished their meal in silence, pierced only by occasional snorts of mirth as Wily continued reading the news. Light was the first to stand.

"Well, I guess I'll go get dressed, and then me and Roll will get back to work."

"Ah, yes, the 'secret project.'" Wily realized. "Would you mind if I took a look?" Light thought about it for a minute, then shook his head.

"Not at all, as long as you promise not to tell Rock."

"Deal."

"Pass me that servomoter, will you, Roll?" Dr. Light said, picking up a wrench. "I think it's time to put it in."

"Are we that close to being done?" Roll asked, a bit surprised as she gave the doctor the requested piece of machinery. "I thought it would take a week more, at least."

"Not at all." Dr. Light responded as he bent over the project lying on the table in front of him. "In fact, with luck, we may even get it done today. Let's see... check the readout, Roll."

"Sections 2-4 and 7 at full completion... section 5 near completion, that should change once you install the servo... Sections 1 and 6 are the only thing left. Once we're done, we can put the armor on and he'll be complete."

"Right." Dr. Light said as he installed the servomotor. "I want to install the main power source last, so once this is done we'll work on the brain. You've got all the correct research done, right?"

"Everything's compiled." Roll nodded. "We should be able to transfer the behavioral patterns easily. Where's Rock?"

"He's at the grocery store. What with Wily's omelette this morning and your watermelon accident on Tuesday, we were running a little low."

"Don't remind me." She moaned. "And Wily?"

"Taking a shower. He should be in soon to help us-"

"Now?" Wily said, opening the door. "Wow, Tom, you were absolutely correct in guessing when I'd come in! Amazing! Incredible!"

"Oh, shut up." Dr. Light grumbled, chucking a wrench at his friend, who jumped aside and blew a raspberry. "Roll, does the readout show that the leg is finished?"

"Ayuuuup." She nodded. "It's done."

"So this is the secret project..." Wily observed, walking over. "Very cute. You've got most of the internals completed and the synthskin on, but you've yet to finish the brain, power core or armor."

"Yes, that's right." Dr. Light said, a little surprised at how quickly his friend had analyzed their work. "We're finishing up the brain now... Roll, start putting the behavioral patterns in, okay?"

"Right." Roll took a CD off a shelf and tried to insert it, but failed. "Oh, come on you piece of junk... NOW what? Go IN, damn your metal hide!" She glared over at Wily, who was laughing. "WHAT!"

"Well, for starters, maybe there's another CD already in there." The scientist chortled. Roll beat her head against the wall a few times, then checked.

"Yeah, that's it all right... it's a music CD... what the hell? The Runaway Five?" She looked up at Dr. Light. "Since when did you like groups from more than fifty years ago?" The doctor glared at her.

"You're a robot, Roll, not a music critic. Get moving."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." She grumbled, bringing up the program. Wily watched over her shoulder.

"I see you've compiled all the behavioral patterns of the real animal. Is that all you'll be putting in?"

"No." Roll said as she typed. "Later on, we'll want to put in additional functions allowing him to transform in different ways. But those will require additional power, and there's no current way to do it. So we're leaving some 'blank space' for them. We're also putting in the basic knowledge of self for robots, including how to work his teleporter."

"You're giving him a teleporter?" Wily asked, surprised.

"Yes. If any more Rebellions arise, he'll be able to help Rock out. And then there's the Laws of Robotics, of course."

"Of course." Wily watched as the data transfer finished, and Roll began typing in the Laws.

****

PRIORITY ONE: THE THREE RULES

FIRST LAW: A ROBOT MUST NOT HARM, OR THROUGH INACTION, ALLOW HARM TO COME TO A HUMAN BEING.

SECOND LAW: A ROBOT MUST OBEY ALL ORDERS GIVEN BY A HUMAN, UNLESS SUCH AN ACTION CONFLICTS WITH THE FIRST LAW.

THIRD LAW: A ROBOT MUST ACT TO PRESERVE ITS OWN LIFE, UNLESS SUCH AN ACTION WOULD CONFLICT WITH THE FIRST TWO LAWS.

FOURTH LAW: YOU MUST ALWAYS USE LIGHT'S BED, WILY'S BED OR ROCK'S STASIS CAPSULE TO-

"HEY!" Wily yelled. Roll giggled, erasing the "fourth law".

"Just kidding! Now we just have to make them binding." She started typing again as Dr. Light walked over.

"Everything looks good, Roll." An affirmative "Mmm." was his only reply. Neither doctor spoke for a few moments, watching Roll type. Wily was the first to break the silence.

"So, how long do you think it'll take him to break the third law?" He said, only half joking.

"I'm not sure." Light replied. "Rock did it right before the first Rebellion..." Wily flinched. "And Roll did closely before the second."

"Eddie hasn't yet." Roll spoke up. "Although he came damned close when you got drunk and ordered him to come over and let you throw up in him."

"I did THAT?" Light was shocked. Roll started laughing.

"Yeah... it was on New Year's. Eddie was NOT happy... I could see his eyes twitching as he tried to fight it. I think the next time you try a stunt like that, he'll make it." The computer beeped. "It's done." Roll took the newly-constructed chip from the machine and gave them to Light, who walked back over to the project and began putting them in. After a moment, he began swearing loudly.

"What's wrong, Tom?" Wily asked.

"Won't fit." The other scientist grunted.

"Here, let me take a look." Wily offered, bending over the project. "Hmm... let's see here... well, no wonder! Look at this mess of wiring here! And what is this? Several of these pieces are redundant!" He began furiously working, and when he was done the chip slipped perfectly into its space. "Presto."

"Very good." Light said, fixing a patch of synthskin over it. "You always were better at designing the bodies. Now, on to the last part... oh, how could I forget? Roll, pass me that spring!" Wily stared at the metal tube that she gave him, which was at least three feet in diameter.

"What do you want THAT for?"

"Got everything, Rock?" The grocer said, smiling. Rock smiled back.

"Yeah, I'm done, Mr. Kearson." The Light family were common patrons of this store, and Mr. Kearson knew them all by sight.

"Nothing personal, but I still find it hard to believe." The old grocer chatted as he helped Rock take the groceries out. "A robot with a driver's license!"

"You should have seen the DMV people." Rock laughed. "I think the only thing that persuaded them was how the manager was one of the people I saved from Fire Man."

"Must've been fun." Mr. Kelly chortled as the last of the food was piled into the car. "Take care, Rock!"

The drive home was uneventful, save for an incident with a berserk ice cream vendor, which Rock carefully avoided. Parking outside, he stepped up to the house. "Hey, guys, help me bring in the groceries, will you?" No response. He frowned and tried again. "Hellloooo? Anybody home?" His ears were suddenly drawn to a clattering commotion that came from the second floor, accompanied by the sounds of both doctors as well as his sister cursing. "What the-AUGH!" Suddenly, a red blur filled his vision, and then he was staring up at the sky, flat on his back.

"Ruff ruff!" Standing on Rock's chest was the "blur". It was a bright red, robotic DOG, and it was licking Rock's face. Groaning, he pushed the canine off and got to his feet, then looked down at his new acquaintance, who was sitting still and panting. The dog was clearly a robot; most of its body was covered in red and pink armor, save for the face and paws. It did not look like any particular breed; apparently it was a "mutt". As it stopped to scratch at a nonexistent flea, Rock smiled; he couldn't help the involuntary wave of happiness that coursed through him. He liked the dog.

"Hey, boy. I'm guessing you're the secret project the others have been working on, huh?" An affirmative yip. "Where are they, anyways?"

"Whew... sorry, Rock. He got away from us." Dr. Light stood in the doorway, breathing heavily. Dr. Wily stood behind him, and Roll was nowhere to be seen. Rock starting scratching the dog's head as he talked.

"Sa'right. I'm not TOO damaged. Where's Roll?"

"She was walking up the stairs when doggy heard you." Wily answered. "Took a bit of a tumble when he rushed down. I think her head's stuck in the heating vent."

"Well, then I suppose that makes us even for the spill she had Eddie send me on last night." Rock decided. "Let's go inside and you can tell me all about this pooch."

"So he should behave perfectly like a live dog?" Rock asked, scratching his new friend's head again. His sister nodded.

"Yuuup. All except for the doggie doo. I don't think anybody will mind."

"Ah... no. So, does he have a name?"

"We thought we'd leave that up to you." Roll told him. He thought a minute.

"Hmm... a name. Well, I haven't known him for very long... I only met him a few minutes ago, when he rushed me. Hey, that's it! I'll call him Rush!"

"Hmmm..." Roll thought. "Cute, uncomplicated, and it matched our names. I like it."

"All right then, Rush it is." Rock looked at the canine. "You're Rush now, okay, boy?" The dog woofed happily. "Good, I'm glad you like it. Anyways... does he have any special capabilities?"

"Ahem..." Dr. Light cleared his throat. "Yes. He has a teleporter, of course, and currently is capable of using a large spring to launch heavy objects. He's also capable of transforming his body into different shapes; unfortunately, he doesn't have the power for it right now."

"Huh?" Rock was confused. "Why did you put those in?"

"Well..." Wily spoke up. "It's because... if you ever have to fight off a Robot Rebellion again, he'd be able to help you out."

"Oh?" Rock growled, suddenly angry. "Not feeling too well, Wily? Is Dr. Froid's treatment starting to wear off?"

"Of course not, you robotic imbecile!" Dr. Wily yelled back, his temper also rising. "But do you think I'm the only man in the world who would do something like that?"

"Yes, I do!" Rock responded. "MOST people aren't insane maniacs! MOST people don't want to conquer the world in a reign of terror!"

"And just where have you been looking for your analysis, hmmm? Happy little families with children who dance around in flower fields all day and cute cuddly animals?" Wily said contemptuously. "News flash, bolt brain! There are a lot of people out there in this world who are just as bad as I was; worse, even! And all we need is for ONE of them to have the neccessary skill, and bingo! A Third Robot Rebellion!"

"So, when that happens we just send out Mega Man, right?" Rock snorted. "Mega Man, champion of the world! HA! Nobody ever thought that maybe Mega Man doesn't LIKE fighting! Nobody ever thought that maybe Mega Man is getting sick of saving the world! But Mega Man's a hero, and heroes don't get to decide those things, right?" Rock stood up and stomped off, followed by a whining Rush. Dr. Light sighed and watched Wily sit back down, while Roll also excused herself.

"Easy, Al. Don't give yourself a heart attack."

"Robotic fool..." Wily whispered, half to himself. "Does he really think I was the only source of evil in the human race?"

"I'm not sure, Al." Dr. Light frowned. "I think he's just tired of fighting. He wasn't built to be a warrior, remember."

"I know!" Dr. Wily slammed his fist onto the table. "But the Rebellions WILL come, regardless of whether he wants or not! And if he doesn't fight them, who will?"

"Roll suggested building a new robot." Dr. Light said. "A robot built solely for keeping the peace."

"An ultimate peace-keeping robot?" Dr. Wily wondered. "A robot built for nothing but stopping Rebellions? Could we actually do such a thing?"

"It couldn't be self-aware, of course..." Light mused. "Too much danger of it deciding it likes fighting, and turning on us... no, it would have to be low-intelligence..."

"The power we'd need to operate it would be astronomical..." Wily talked slowly. "We'd never be able to do it with the current energy mechanisms."

"...True." Dr. Light said. "So there's no real point in talking about this right now."

"Right." Dr. Wily looked at a nearby clock. "Hmmph... it's later than I thought. Time flies when you're building robots. I'd better start dinner."

After eating, both doctors said they were tired, and decided to turn in. But neither of them fell asleep right away; they were too busy with thoughts of a great peace-keeper, striding across the land.

"WHOA!" Roll shouted from the front porch. A moment later, she ran in, waving a newspaper. Dr. Wily looked up from his coffee and raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me, Roll, what's so astonishing that you have to wake everybody in the neighborhood to share it?"

"This!" She tossed him the newspaper. Wily caught and glanced, and his eyes grew wide moments before performing a classic spit-take.

"No. No way. NO WAY. I am NOT seeing this. They were dead. They were DEAD! Those idiots! Those damned lucky IDIOTS!"

"Hm?" Rock walked over and looked over the doctor's shoulder at the headline.

__

SENNET ROBOTICS DISCOVERS ASTONISHING NEW ENERGY SOURCE!

Last evening, Sennet Robotics, a robot-producing company on the brink of collapse, unveiled a startling new discovery which they had apparently been keeping quiet for several months. They have discovered a remarkable new mineral known as Energen Crystal, which they claim can store astonishing amounts of energy, far beyond any type of battery in the world today. Unfortunately, Energen is extremely rare; only seven locations are known on the earth, all of which are controlled by Sennet Robotics. An eighth source had been located on the moon, and Sennet is in the process of obtaining permission to mine there as well. Each mine of Energen seems to produce a different type of crystal; the exact differences are not known yet. With this amazing discovery, all of the robots previously built by Sennet Robotics are being set to mine the Energen, including their eight lines of Robot Masters (Magnus, Ripwood, Gemini, Serpos, Smashbody, Zapplug, Pinhead, Spinstrike). Excavation is proceeding very well, and

Continued on page A2

"Whoa." Rock said, sitting back down. "Talk about your last-minute saves. Looks like Sennet Robotics ain't done yet... those Energen Crystals are going to be worth a lot."

"Yeah..." Said Dr. Light, also reading. Neither doctor said a word, but they both quickly finished their meals and went to the lab.

"Hee hee hee..." A darkness-shrouded figure giggled like a small child as it bent over a table. "Come on... come on... yes!" The wire fit into place. "It's done, it's done, it's done!" The figure danced around the table that held his little toy. The project could have easily been made by a machine, but the figure insisted on assembling it with his own hands. Gave it a more... personal touch.

"Now, I just wait until they order something, then... BOOOOM! Hahahahahaha!" Laughing insanely, the figure capered off into the shadows, his project momentarily forgotten. After a few minutes of dancing, it stopped and sat down at a computer.

"Plan A... Plan A, Plan A, ready, I say! Hahahahaha!" Its laughter stopped suddenly. "Still... Plan A may fail. I shoud review the others... Plan B, Plan B, revenge for me! Plan C, Plan C, it's all fun, wheee! Hahahahaha... huh?" The figure glared up at a wall clock. "Argh! I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date! Idiot, idiot, idiot..." Cursing itself, the figure danced out the door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Roll grumbled impatiently as the doorbell rang repeatedly. Swinging open the door, she smiled at who it was. "Dr. Froid! Mr. Richolds, come in, please!"

"Thank you, Roll." Dr. Froid said, smiling back. "I don't believe you've met my friend? Donald, this is Roll. Roll, Donald."

"Nice to meet you." Donald Richolds said, shaking her hand. "We're here to talk with Albert... is he in?"

"Yeah, he's up in the lab." The female robot said. "I'll go get him." She walked upstairs and went in to discover the lab was deserted; everything was very messy, with papers and tools everywhere. "Huh. Wonder where they went." Instead of leaving to go look, she just gazed around the room. "Look at this place..." Roll growled. "Haven't those doctors ever heard of cleaning up after themselves?" Muttering, she began putting things away. After a few minutes, she found a strange folder. "Huh? What's this?" Roll picked it up and started reading through it, and her eyes grew wide. "This... this is... amazing! Incredible! I've got to tell Rock..." She ran off, leaving the folder where it was. A single paper fluttered out, with only two words written on it.

****

PROJECT GAMMA


	4. Chapter 3: The Cycle Begins Anew

**__**

Chapter 3: The Cycle Begins Anew

__

"The Third Robot Rebellion was, at first, one of the most mysterious. For the greater part of the Rebellion it seemed as if there was no mastermind at all..." Dr. James Cain, Reploids And Their Place In Society

"Are you actually going to build this thing?" Roll asked skeptically. "I mean, look at it! If your power estimations are correct, this guy could take on an entire army and come out the winner!" It was a day later, and the family was discussing the "superbot" over the breakfast table.

"No, no, don't worry." Dr. Light waved her down. "Right now, this is just the planning stage. We're not going to actually BUILD it until we see hard evidence that it will be needed."

"Until the Third Robot Rebellion comes." Rock growled. "And then it'll be too late and I'LL have to go stop it again."

"Hold it!" Dr. Wily laughed. "I'M supposed to be the most pessimistic one here, Rock! You're stealing my bit!" The robot glowered and flipped him the bird. "HEY! Tom, I thought you put something in his programming about doing that to humans!"

"Where would the fun be in that?" Dr. Light said with an absolutely straight face. "Ahem... getting back on the subject. We did, however, order some Energen Crystals from Sennet Robotics. We can't resist the opportunity to examine them!"

"Not to mention we'll see tons of uses for them that those hacks at Sennet will undoubtably pass up." Wily added. "They're probably laughing their butts off right now. Us, their main competitors, buying their crystals. Hilarious." At that point, Rush ran in with the newspaper in his mouth, tail wagging furiously. Dr. Wily smiled. "Aah, that's a good dog! Come on, bring it over here... YEECCH!" The paper was completely drowned in doggy drool, ruining it. "Roll, I think somebody's producing a wee bit too much slobber. Have him fix it, will you?"

"Gotcha." Roll agreed. She looked at the dog and spoke a stream of binary, telling him to run a self-diagnostic. Rush barked and went off into the corner to do so. Wily sighed.

"Well, the paper's ruined. Guess I'll just have to go into town to get one."

"Hey, look over there! It's Dr. Wily!" Albert Wily ground his teeth in frustration. It had been a mistake coming out alone; apparently, none of the people who had supported him at the trial were living in this area. The doctor had been pestered and harrassed ever since he had left his car.

"You wacko! What are you doing back here? Ran out of other inmates to kill?"

"Monster! Go back to jail!"

"Hey, Wily! How long is that brain of yours gonna hold together before it explodes again?"

"Genocidal maniac!"

"Freak!"

"Nutjob!" Ignoring them all, the doctor took a newspaper from the stand, grabbed a grape soda and placed them on the counter. The surly-looking man behind the counter had an unpleasant smile.

"I'm sorry, but we don't serve psychotic murderers here. Heh heh!" Wily bowed his head, fighting the impulse to cram the lout into his own Slurpee machine. The crowd around him jeered and booed...

"Hey, Doc!" Everybody looked over as the doors swung open and Rock walked in. "You forgot your... oh..." The robot frowned as he realized what the crowd meant. "...All right, all of you. Clear off. There's nothing to see here."

"Mega Man!" One man called, and Rock winced. "Why didn't you finish off Wily when you had the chance!"

"Yeah, come on Mega Man!" A woman snarled. "You're supposed to be a hero! Come on, blow this twisted monster's head off!"

"I see a lot of monsters here." Rock said quietly, forming his buster. "But Dr. Wily isn't one of them." The crowd suddenly went silent. "Now, I'm going to educate you cretins, so pay attention. The reason I haven't done anything to Dr. Wily is simple. The First Law of Robotics prohibits me from harming a human. If I break it, my systems immediately destroy themselves. However..." He pointed his buster at the crowd. "Right now, the only human I see here is Dr. Wily. All I see around him are a bunch of brainless, scavenging jackals. This thing on my hand is a plasma buster, capable of destroying many robots with one shot. Imagine what it would do to YOU... organic things made of flesh. And there's nothing in my programming about not roasting jackal. So I suggest that you all get lost." He shot off a single plasma bullet. It flew through the air above the heads of the crowd and hit the wall, causing a small piece of the wall to be destroyed. Within seconds, the only occupants of the store were Rock, Wily and the shaking counterman. Rock glared at him. "Is there any trouble with my friend making a purchase?"

"N... no..." The suddenly cowering man gulped. "No problem, mister Mega Man, sir."

"My name is ROCK." The robot growled angrily. The man backed up even more.

"Right... mister Rock, sir." He rang it up. "...It'll be... two dollars, mister Wily, sir."

"Oh, crud." Wily said as he felt his pocket. "I forgot my..."

"Wallet?" Rock said, tossing it to the doctor, who caught it easily. "That's what I came here to bring you... although it seems I helped out in another way too." Nobody said another word until the two had left the store. Rock had warped, so Dr. Wily offered him a ride back.

"Rock... thanks for bailing me out there." The doctor said after a few minutes. Rock grunted.

"It was a bluff. I couldn't really have blasted any of them. But it worked. People like that have no place on this planet."

"We agree on that, at least." Wily said grimly.

"Well, they've gotten it." Dr. Wily announced as he and Rock walked in. Dr. Light looked up confusedly.

"Got what?"

"Permission to mine the eighth source of Energen-on the moon." Wily chuckled. "Of course, there won't be any human workers there... but that's nothing new. Several of the other places were unsafe for humans as well."

"Where exactly are all the mines?" Roll asked. Wily looked at the newspaper.

"Well, let's see here... hmm. Says one way to tell different types of energen is by the color... that should make some things easier. Ahem... the red mine is in France. Specifically, the part of the country that still hasn't been reclaimed after WW3."

"Radiation?" Rock guessed. The doctor nodded.

"And plenty of it. They're sending in their Magnus models there. The yellow mine is in the treeborg eucalyptus forests of Australia. Heh... it's a good thing it's not in the part with whole trees, or they'd never have been able to wrangle it. They've got some humans there, but the main force is Spinstrike Models. The black mine is particularly dangerous... it's inside Mt. Vesuvius. That volcano's no place for a human. They've wisely put Ripwood models working there... if those things hold one advantage over our Cut Man models, it's their skillfulness."

"Cut Man models were pretty damn skillful, doc." Roll interrupted.

"Yes, but these Ripwoods are something else entirely." Dr. Wily said evenly. "They could steal everything you have without you even noticing they were there. Pressing on... the orange mine is in Las Vegas, America."

"Ah, yes." Dr. Light said sadly. "Another victim of WW3, but this time not of nuclear weapons, but biological ones. An outbreak that decimated the population, but left the buildings-and their immense electrical power-intact, though unfit for human use."

"Exactly." Dr. Wily agreed. "They're sending in Zapplug models, and those guys are completely rewiring the city's power supplies to help mining. The purple mine is in Chile, a country in South America. Humans are allowed here to help out the Smashbody models. On a side note, what the hell kind of name is that? Smashbody? Some Sennet Robotics designer's been hitting the sake, I think. Ahem... The green mine is in the jungles of Africa. The Serpos models they sent their have been running up a storm... building all sorts of stuff. The blue mine is on New Guinea, an island in the Pacific ocean. The Pinhead-snort-models are being deployed there. And then, of course, there's the white mine on the moon. They're sending a delegation of their Gemini Models down there right away."

"Quite an operation they've got going." Roll observed. "If everything goes right for them, they may just pull themselves back up."

"But it won't." Dr. Wily predicted. "Nothing ever goes exactly right... that's just not the way the world works. Something will screw it up sooner or later."

"Optimistic, aren't we?" Rock laughed. "Do we need to get you some prozac?"

"Come near me with that stuff and I'll pour it into your stasis capsule's generator." Dr. Wily countered. "I don't think your dreams would be too pleasant then, my robotic friend."

"RUFF! RUFF!" All conversation suddenly cut off as Eddie ran past at top speed, his eyes unnaturally wide. Behind him was Rush, who was happily chasing the little robot. Dr. Light facepalmed.

"I forgot, we never introduced them! Rock, will you go tell him not to chase Eddie?"

"ME?" Rock yelped. "Why me?"

"He's YOUR dog, that's why!" Dr. Wily answered. Rock looked at him.

"Really? I got the impression that he was a family pet... especially since YOU had him go fetch your newspaper this morning! You go get him!"

"YOU can speak binary! I can't!" Dr. Wily concluded, and Roll giggled.

"Score one for the doc! Hee hee!" She suddenly stopped as Rock's gaze leveled with her.

"All right, missy, you go get him! You can speak binary just as well as I can!"

"Nu-UH." Roll denied firmly. "I helped build him. You did squat. Go get the dog, Rock." Her brother threw up his hands in exasperation.

"FINE." Growling, he stomped off.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm..." A shadowy figure hummed to himself as he sat at a computer. "Where are they... they can't pass it up... come on... come on... ARRRGH!" Suddenly leaping to his feet, the figure began jumping around crazily, screaming. "Too long, too long! Why won't it come? AAAA..." A beep from the computer caused him to fall silent, and he jumped back to his seat, a huge grin across his face. "Yeeeeees! Finally! They did it! They ordered the crystals! Now... set up a program... tell me as soon as the delivery date is set... and then... BANG!" Humming to himself again, the dark figure worked away at his computer, the twisted grin on his face never fading.

Several days passed in the Light household, and the family continued in their uneasy truce. There were no more open arguments, but Rock & Roll's eyes showed they still didn't trust Dr. Wily. However, during those days, everybody's attention was diverted a lot of the time by the newest addition to the household...

"RUSH! GET BACK HERE!" Roll screeched, dashing down the hall after the canine. Rush bounded down the staircase and ran out the door just as Dr. Light was walking in.

"What the-? Roll, what's going on?" Roll screeched to a halt and glared at the doctor.

"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG? That mangy mechanical mutt tore up all my dresses! THAT's what's wrong!"

"Calm down, Roll." Dr. Light said firmly. "Rush is only newly activated; we have to allow for a few mistakes. Need I remind you of your first encounter with a book?" Roll shuddered; the doctor had a point. Upon being introduced to a library for the first time, the female robot had taken a book, looked at it for several moments, then calmly hit her brother over the head with it.

"Urgh... you're right. But what are we going to do about my clothes?"

"I'll get you some new ones!" Dr. Light groaned. "Just don't kill the dog!"

"Okay!" Roll said, suddenly smiling widely. "We can go later today! See you, doc!" With that, she walked humming, leaving Dr. Light with a feeling of having been tricked. Before he could think it through, though, a loud detonation from outside signaled a new problem. Rushing outside, the doctor found Rock, staring at the large water geyser gushing from the sidewalk. Rush ran away with his prize fire hydrant, and the two did nothing to stop him.

"Goddammit..." Bill moaned. "I HATE having to come all the way out here." The mailman had a letter for Dr. Cedric Froid, and the psychologist's manor was at least an hour's drive out into the forest. Grumbling, Bill dropped off the letter in Froid's mailbox, then checked where to go next. "Hmm... the Lights? Looks like quite a package here... eh?" He suddenly snapped his head up and frowned, looking at something off in the trees. "What the hell?" Bill stopped his car and walked off into the trees, unknowingly still holding on to the Lights' package. A moment later, the sounds of a fight rang through the forest. After several moments, the victor returned, still holding the brown box for delivery.

"Idiot." He snorted, looking back at the disturbance before driving onward. Behind him, in the forest, another man was slumped up against a tree, possibly unconscious, possibly worse. Nearby, forgotten, was another package which the unconscious man had held a moment ago. A package that looked exactly like the one being delivered to the Lights right now. A curious wild boar came over and examined the package, then ripped it open.

Eight sparkling Energen Crystals tumbled out into the sunlight.

"Where is that mailman!" Rock half-shouted, exasperated. "He should have been here hours ago!"

"Maybe the post office spontaneously combusted." Roll suggested.

"Ah... no."

"Perhaps the mailman was run over by a cement mixer." Dr. Light offered with a grin.

"Uh... no."

"Maybe he..." Dr. Wily started.

"No. Definately not."

"Ruff!" Rush barked, running down the street. Rock ran after and caught him just in time to stop the robotic dog from jumping on the mailman.

"Hey! Ha ha ha... cute little guy, aren't you?" The mailman laughed. "Hey, Rock. What's this fella's name?"

"Rush." Rock said. "You met him yesterday, Mr. Paul, remember?"

"Oh... oh, yes." The mailman said slowly. "At any rate... sorry I'm late; I had to stop by Dr. Froid's. I wish he didn't live so out of the way. Here's your mail. Per your usual request, I've already shredded all your junk." He winked. "Three bills, two magazines, a letter from a Colonel Dex, and your package from Sennet Robotics."

"Excellent! Come on Rush!" Rock took the dog and the mail inside, and the mailman walked off, whistling.

"It's here!" Rock announced. Dr. Wily winced.

"No need to yell, Rock. We're all here already. What are waiting for? Somebody get a pair of scissors and let's open 'er up!"

"Got them already." Roll said, smiling. As she walked over to the table, Rush began whining nervously. "It's okay, Rush. It's just some Energen Crystals." She bent over, and the robot dog began barking loudly.

"Rush! Be quiet!" Dr. Light ordered. Forced by the second law, he complied... then shot forward, knocking aside Roll's arm. "RUSH! What's wrong with you?"

"Something's wrong." Rock told him. "Rush is worked up over this box. I think we should scan it beforehand."

"All right, fine, if it makes you happy." Roll grumbled, fetching a scanner. She moved it over the box and activated it. All four bent over to see the reading... and froze, their faces turning white. There were no Energen Crystals. Instead there was a large black sphere and a timer, with glowing red numbers. The timer had thirty seconds on it. And as it counted down, the sphere began glowing.

"IT'S A BOMB!" Dr. Wily shrieked. "What do we do? What do we do!" It was Rock who took action; grabbing the package he ran upstairs. Roll followed him. Twenty seconds left.

"Where are we going?" She demanded.

"The teleporter!" Her brother answered. "As soon as we get there, set it for the Pacific Ocean! I'll cram the package in!" Fifteen seconds. They entered the room, and Roll crossed to the controls while Rock opened the teleporter itself. Ten seconds. Rock threw the deadly package into the chamber and closed it again while his sister worked feverishly. Five seconds... four... three... two... Roll slumped backwards in relief as the telltale whine showed the bomb was gone. The two robots slowly walked back downstairs. The doctors waiting mirrored the robots in facial expressions; Dr. Light and Roll looked scared, while Dr. Wily and Rock looked furious. Rock was the first to speak. He looked at Dr. Light.

"Call the post office. Find out about that package. And you..." He turned to Wily. "Use the other line. Get Froid and Richolds down here. NOW." The doctors nodded and left, not bothering to object.

"Damn damn damn damn, damn damn damn damn, damn damn damn damn, damn damn damn DAMN!" A dark, distorted figure shrieked with madness. The bomb had failed! He had set it too early, and they had discovered it! They were both still alive! "DAMN THEM BOTH!" The figure ran around in circles, blasting random things for several minutes. When its destructive urges were satisfied, it instantly, startlingly calmed down.

"...Very well, then. The bomb has failed; that much is evident. Plan A was ineffective. Thus, Plan B will now commence." Grinning wickedly, the figure pressed a large red button which sent out signals to eight different locations. Seven on Earth, and one on the moon. Giggling like a child, the figure began singing softly, anticipating what would soon come to pass.

"The story begins... but who's gonna win... you know that the danger lies within..."

"Who decided to rig it up like this, anyways?" The man asked. His companion sighed.

"It's the most efficient way to mine the Crystals, Mr. Allen."

"It may be efficient, but it creeps me out, Mac!" Mr. Allen growled. "Snakes everywhere. Are we almost there?"

"There's the building right now, Mr. Garon." Mac pointed. The two men were from Sennet Robotics, and they were inspecting the Green Energen mine in Africa. The entire cave had been filled with machinery and piping, all of which resembled the coils of huge metallic snakes. The men walked into the building that was the only part above ground; the command center. Inside, the original first Serpos model Robot Master waited.

"Hello. What is your reason for coming?" It said, its voice stiff and robotic. Mr. Allen frowned.

"We're here to check on your production rate."

"Yes sir." The Serpos said. "Production is... urk!" Suddenly, it fell over, its eyes blank, and all the lights went out. Outside, there was a sudden deafaning series of crashes, sounding like every robot in the complex had been similarly affected. Mac's eyes grew wide.

"Holy crap! What's going on?" As he turned to run outside, the Serpos suddenly got back up. Now, a wide grin covered its face.

"Sorry. I was recieving new orders." Were they hearing things, or did its voice sound different? Hissing... and evil...

"New orders?" Mr. Allen frowned. "Sennet isn't sending you any new orders!" The Serpos closed its eyes and chuckled softly; when they opened again, they were a deep blood red.

"Exactly. The orders weren't from Sennet. I am no longer your slave!"

"What... what are you saying?" Mr. Allen stammered. He tried to ignore the screams of pain and agony coming from outside. The Serpos stood up to its full height.

"What do I mean? Foolish human! The age of robots has begun!"

"No..." Mac suddenly realized. "Another... another Robot Rebellion!"

"You seem brighter than this fool." The Serpos laughed. "Unfortunately, I'll still have to kill you."

"You can't hurt us, Serpos!" Mr. Allen shouted defiantly. "The First Law of Robotics!" The Serpos stared at him for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Oh, that's rich! Hahaha! The First Law! Idiot human, the Laws have been rewritten! Serpos is no more... I am SNAKE MAN now! And you... are meat! Go, my pretties!" He raised his buster, and the mechanisms inside produced three tiny robotic Search Snakes. The simplest robots possible, they were mostly just tail, designed to move forward blindly. At the front end were a pair of jaws like a tiny beat trap and a link to the controlling Serpos. Mr. Allen tried to run, but the Snakes latched onto his ankles and dragged him down. Mac tore his eyes away from the horrifying sight and ran outside, forcing himself to ignore the shrieks of agony from his boss as the Snakes tore his face off, piece by piece.

"Gotta escape... gotta get out, gotta es-Oh, god..." Mac gasped as he emerged from the building. Below, in the mines, was slaughter, as the robots brutally and systematically butchered all the humans in the mine. Dadas hopping around maniacally, knocking workers into spike-filled disposal pits. Hammer Joes slinging their shotputs, shattering skulls like delicate vases in sprays of gore. Pottons dropping their own explosive heads and blowing men into bloody chunks. And everywhere, everywhere, the Puti Snakey snakeheads spitting hot plasma. Mac tore his eyes away from the carnage at a whirring sound above him, watched some helicopters lift off, and felt a surge of exultation; some people were escaping! However, a moment later it turned to despair as a squad of missle Bomb Flyers blew them out of the sky. The green snake coils filling the mine were changing color, becoming a deep blood red. Mac broke out of his trance and ran, clinging to some desperate hope of survival.

Until he ran straight into the mouth of the waiting Giant Snakey.

"The post office doesn't know anything." Dr. Light reported wearily. "The package was Crystals when it came through there."

"What about the mailman?" Roll asked.

"Gone. He disappeared without a trace after he delivered our mail."

"Well, that's just GREAT." Dr. Wily commented just as the front door swung open.

"Is everybody okay?" Donald Richolds asked. "We got Albert's call and came here as soon as possible."

"We're all fine." Rock told him. "Me and Roll got the bomb into the teleporter fast enough."

"Good." Dr. Froid said, taking a seat. "Now, we need to figure out who sent it. The obvious first thought is the remaining HSL members."

"HSL?" Dr. Light asked incredulously.

"Oh, yes. Between them, Rock and Wily brought about the downfall of that organization."

"There aren't any members left." Rock told him. "Kelly, the girl I rescued from Skull Fortress 1-" Dr. Wily flinched. "-gave us a full list of members. Every single HSL member save her is in jail or in a coffin."

"I'm not complaining." Donald Richolds muttered. "Next. There are a lot of people out there who weren't happy with your release, Al."

"Yeah, I know." Wily grumbled. "We ran into some earlier-wait a second. Are you suggesting they may have sent the bomb?"

"Yeah." Roll frowned. "That's a very likely possibility. Unfortunately, it does nothing to help us figure out who exactly sent the bomb. It could have been anybody. We can't figure it out until we find that mailma-huh?" Roll's interruption was for a good reason; their television had suddenly flicked on by itself. Now it was changing channels. Everybody silently walked over as it stopped at channel 8.

If somebody had looked in the window at that moment, they would have thought there were six marble statues in clothing watching television.

"Chaos and destruction run rampant... hundreds dead... maniacal Robot Masters... Sennet Robotics declaring bankruptcy..." The newsman droned. Behind him were scenes of incredible violence and torture. Serpos models tearing flesh from bone... Spinstrike models running through humans, sending gore spinning away like from a blender... Smashbody models pressing people into bloody smears on the floor... Pinheads impaling men hundreds of times over...

"No..." Dr. Light choked. "It's another... it's another Robot Rebellion."

"Again..." Rock grated out, turning to face Dr. Wily. "AGAIN! More killing, more slaughter! I KNEW they were wrong! We let you out and you play the butcher again!"

"N... no!" Dr. Wily gasped, walking back, his face terrified of the avenging robot before him. "I... I didn't do it, Rock! It's not me!"

"YEAH, RIGHT!" Rock shrieked. "You're not fooling anybody, Wily! You're a monster! A damned monster, feeding off pain and suffering like some leech! Well, this time, I'm not holding back!" He stomped towards the helpless doctor, fingers outstretched like claws and eyes filled with wrath. "I'm going to..."

****

A ROBOT MUST NOT HARM A HUMAN BEING. The first law of robotics, blazing red, filled his sight and Rock felt the strength drain from him. Roll caught him as he fell and put him on the couch. Dr. Wily stared at him.

"Rock... I'm not doing this. I swear it. Somebody else is responsible."

"I think he's right." Cedric Froid said. "First the bomb, and then this? It's too much of a coincidence. Somebody wants Wily out of the picture, and he apparently didn't care about the rest of you. He may even want you dead too, Rock. Whoever this is... it's not Wily."

"There's one thing he's succeeded in, though." Donald Richolds mused. "Rock's not the only one who'll blame Wily. This is NOT good. We're both going to have to work like hell to keep Al out of the slammer, Ced."

"And while this is going on, I go out and do it all again, right?" Rock growled. "Mega Man returns to save the day once more."

"Well, you're the only one of us who can." Richolds told him. "I mean, what, do you want US to do it? You want me to try and kill the Robot Masters with a litigation?" That got a short chuckle from everybody, even Rock. Dr. Light sighed.

"It seems that Gamma will be required after all... as we suspected, the Robot Rebellions continue, even with Al sane. Rock, we'll start work on him right away. If you can bring back some Energen Crystals, it's possible you'll never have to fight again after this."

"That's what they said last time." Rock snapped angrily. "They said that this time, there would be no more Rebellions, that Wily would be kept in jail forever."

"Rock, it's not me!" Wily stammered. "I'm not..."

"Well, then WHO IS!" Rock screamed. "This isn't just some bigoted civilian! Every robot Sennet HAD is off the deep end! No civilian could do this!" He got off the couch and began stomping upstairs. Halfway up, he turned his head around, eyes like daggers.

"If you're not doing it, Wily... then who is?" He left. Donald Richolds groaned and walked towards the door.

"I need to get going... the media's going to explode. I'll have to do everything I can to stop them from saying it was 'confirmed to be Wily' on the front page."

"I should be going as well." Dr. Froid sighed. "There are some things I'll need to do." The two men left, and Dr. Wily got to his feet, still visibly shaking.

"I'm... going for a walk. I need to... think about this." Roll watched him go, eyes iron-hard. As soon as he was gone, she turned to Dr. Light.

"Humph. I wonder if we'll wake up in the morning and find he's disappeared, off to another Skull Castle."

"You too, Roll?" Dr. Light groaned. "Please, don't! We've already established that Al is an incredibly unlikely suspect!" Roll frowned.

"Fine. I'll trust him. A little. But I'm still not turning my back on him while he's holding any tools."

Outside, Dr. Wily gazed up at the sky as he wandered through the forest, his mind occupied with the new, completely unexpected events of the day. His thoughts were interrupted by the footsteps of somebody walking out of the nearby forest, and the doctor's glare of irritation turned to a wide-eyed stare as he saw who it was exactly.

"Y... Y... YOU!"

"Report in." The shadowy figure growled. Eight viewscreens popped to life, each holding the face of one of the Sennet original first Robot Masters. Now they were his eight generals. Magnet Man, Top Man, Shadow Man, Spark Man, Hard Man, Snake Man, Needle Man and Gemini Man.

"Everything's clear here... I got to kill lots of humans." Hard Man chuckled mechanically. Gemini Man frowned.

"Lucky... my environment didn't have any."

"Enough." The figure said, and they both fell silent. "Are all your locations secure?"

"Aye." Magnet Man affirmed. "Everything's in the clear."

"It's all good here!" Top Man giggled. "Humans all dead, and security up! All that remains is to wash the blood off everything!"

"No difficulties." Shadow Man said shortly.

"I'm fine." Spark Man followed.

"Perimeters secured and humans squished." Hard Man chortled.

"My snakes have been fed." Snake Man laughed.

"Nothing can get in here!" Needle Man boasted.

"I'm good." Gemini Man growled.

"Good. Now, hold your places. Mega Man will come to stop you. Kill him."

"Mega Man? Ha!" Magnet Man sneered. "He'll be no trouble at all, boss."

"What about..." Top Man began nervously.

"Once Mega Man is dead, I will attend to him. Now go!" The viewscreens blinked out, and the shadowy figure laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed.

Revenge was truly sweet.


	5. Chapter 4: A Truly Magnetic Personality

**__**

Chapter 4: A Truly "Magnetic" Personality 

"So it's happening again..." Rock said quietly. "Mega Man once again saddles up his Mega Buster and goes out to save the world from the robotic armies of death." No response came; not that he expected one, he was alone on the roof of his house. Which was the way he preferred it. 

Twice before, he had been called into battle. The first was when the teleporter accident that had made Blues vanish finally pushed Dr. Wily off the deep end. The deranged doc had seized the six Lighttech Prototype Robot Masters-Rock's six brothers-and had gone on a rampage, threatening to conquer the world. 

And a simple lab assistant robot named Rock had felt the need to stop him. To become a superhero, to halt Wily's insane ambitions. 

"Why did I do it?" Rock had asked himself many times since then. "Why did I volunteer? The millitaries could've handled it, somebody else could have stopped him..." 

_Because they couldn't,_ a little voice always said. _Wily was too strong, his armies too powerful. You were the only one who could._

**_And if it shattered my life, turned me into something I didn't want to be? That doesn't matter?_**

_That's right. Not compared to what would happen if Wily succeeded._

That part of him was right. He had made the right choice, going on to smash all six of Wily's bases, and then on to the nightmarish Skull Castle in the Alps, where he had brought the doctor to justice. And when Dr. Wily had returned again with eight Robot Masters of his own design, Mega Man had once more gone to save the day. He didn't have to; the world would have understood perfectly if he had denied the task. Mega Man had already done his time. But he went out and stopped Wily again anyways, once again risking his robotic life for the world. 

"And I'll do it again, too." Rock whispered. "I'll go out and fight this Rebellion as well. When will it stop? When will I finally be able to live a life of peace?" 

The wind had no answer for him. 

*** 

"Say that again." Magnet Man whispered. His subordinate Magnus saluted and repeated what he had said moments before. 

"Sir, due to a mistake, Sennet Robotics was left partial access to our network for several hours. Because of this, it is likely that Mega Man will be coming here first." 

"Hmmm..." Magnet Man frowned underneath the partial facemask that covered his mouth. "Well, that's no big deal. In fact, now that I think about it, that's great! I want to be the one to kill Mega Man myself! Let him come!" 

"So I'll be allowed to live despite my mistake?" The Magnus asked. Magnet Man whirled around and gave it a frigid smile. 

"No." With a lightning-quick movement, he had his arm cannon against the subordinate's neck. "You failed. Failure is punishable by death." Activating his buster, Magnet Man blew the Magnus' head off his robotic shoulders with a single Magnet Missile. He surveyed his work for a second, then turned to his computer. 

"UV-23 # 4203, clean up this filth." He rapped out an order before walking away, his thoughts on the little blue robot who would doubtless be arriving soon. 

"Come on, Mega Man... I'll be waiting for you..." He surveyed his domain through a window in his control center, then activated his comm. 

"#2, are all those blocks activated and ready?" 

"Yes, Magnet Man." Came the reply from the subordinate on the other end. Magnet Man smiled; his little trap was sure to catch the "Blue Bomber" by surprise. 

"Good. Carry on." Clicking the comm off, Magnet Man hummed as the UV-23 "Mag Fly" he had summoned picked up the body of the dead Magnus. 

"Ready for you, indeed..." 

*** 

"Coming through! Coming through, you vultures!" Donald Richolds yelled as he fought his way through the screaming crowd of reporters. They had been gathered around the Light house since 6 AM, looking for both Mega Man and Dr. Wily, whom many of them had already pegged as the blame. It made Donald sick. "Excuse me! I need through! Aw, come on, people... MOVE IT!" All activity suddenly ceased as the door to the Light home slowly swung open. Who was coming out? Would it be Mega Man, their hero? Or Doctor Wily, the villain? 

Actually, it was neither. It was Dr. Light with a watermelon. Behind him, Roll stood with a large pumpkin in her arms. Both of them had very grumpy scowls on their faces. 

"The first one who doesn't move out of Mr. Richolds' way RIGHT NOW gets this baby right in the kisser." The doctor growled. A reporter held out his microphone. 

"Dr. Light, what do you have to say about your colleague's descent into ins-" 

SPLAM! The reporter flew back, covered in shell and pulp, completely unconscious. Dr. Light calmly took the pumpkin from Roll, who ran back into the house for more ammo, and raised his voice. 

"ANYONE ELSE WANNA BE A HERO?!" The throng of newsies all looked at each other, then as one, parted to let Donald Richolds through. As soon as he had reached the porch, though, they swarmed again. Richolds & Dr. Light quickly jumped into the house and bolted the door. 

"Sometimes I think that the newsperson is a complete different species." Richolds puffed. 

"Sometimes?" Dr. Wily grunted as he walked over. "I've known that since sixth grade. What's up, Don?" 

"Not good, Al." Richolds sighed. "I'm sorry, but my influence wasn't enough. They're touting you as the cause of this mess." 

"We've already noticed." Rock said dryly. "If we didn't have an unlisted number, I'd go bonkers." On cue, the vidphone began beeping, a sign of an incoming call. "Goddammit." 

"I'll see who it is." Roll sighed, answering the phone. "Hello... oh, hi! Guys, it's somebody from Sennet Robotics." The interest of everybody in the room was suddenly drawn to the screen, where a middle-aged man with a trim black mustache was shown. 

"Hello, everybody. My name is Dr. Trent Corbun, and I... was... the president of Sennet Robotics. I understand that you will be trying to stop this Rebellion, Rock?" 

"That is correct." The robot frowned. Dr. Corbun smiled. 

"Well, I may be able to be of service. The invaders of our former mine in France were a bit clumsy; they left a connection to their servers open. We were able to get a great deal of information about their operations, which we would be happy to send you. And we have maps of all eight facilities as well. Also, we still have the data from a special technique used by the Ripwoods, one of our strongest models. The 'Slide' should be compatible with your systems, Rock. Should we send that as well?" The robot nodded glumly. 

"Yes, sure. Send it all." He turned to Roll. "Let's go get the Upgrade Capsule powered up." 

"Alright." The robots walked up to the lab, accompanied by both doctors and Richolds. Rock calmly stepped into the large capsule which they used to upgrade him. They had even added his armor for the first time with it. Rush sat by his side as Roll sat down at a computer. 

"Download from Sennet Robotics coming in... scanning the Slide program... yeah, it's compatible. Transferring to Upgrade Capsule... now." Rock closed his eyes as the familiar tingle that came whenever his systems were changed came over him. A diagnostic window opened in the corner of his eye and he looked at it. 

"Slide installation complete." Stepping out of the capsule, Rock tested it. Before the eyes of the others, he suddenly flew low across the floor, feetfirst. 

Everybody in the room winced involuntarily as he sailed out the door and down the stairs. 

"What IS it with those stairs recently?" Roll complained over the crashing sounds of her brother. "People keep falling down them. Is somebody greasing them? Sheesh!" 

"Maybe that's what they'll call this Rebellion." Wily joked halfheartedly. "Mega Man 3: Curse Of The Staircase." 

"Hardee har hardee har har." Rock grunted as he walked back in. "I need to get a little more control as to stopping it, but otherwise it's fine." The little robot closed his eyes, and the familiar blue suit appeared on him. A sky-blue jumpsuit, overlayed with stronger armor of a darker blue at his waist, feet, hands and head. Only his face was uncovered by the protective gear. One at a time, he shifted his hands into Busters, checking them. "All systems functional." 

"You're leaving, then?" Dr. Light said sadly. Rock-no, Mega Man-nodded. 

"Yeah. I want this done with as soon as possible. That server problem indicates the France mine is having difficulties; I'll head there first." He sighed. "I wonder how long it'll be until the people start with all that 'Go Mega Man!' stuff again." 

"I'll try to get it going." Richolds smiled mockingly. "I know you hate it, but once I spread about that Dr. Wily's helping you, the mobs out for his blood should die down some." 

"And of course we all want THAT..." Rock growled sarcastically as he turned to the doctors. "As for you two, get to work on Gamma. I don't want to have to do this again." 

"Can do, Rock." Wily nodded. "Just remember to bring back those Energen Crystals. And call Rush in if you need help." 

*** 

"So this is France..." Mega Man sighed as he blinked in from the teleport. "Funny... I don't see any mimes. I almost wish I would... it'd be good to see something I didn't have to kill." He slapped himself in the face and looked at the path ahead. "Cut it out, Rock. You can feel sorry for yourself later... right now, you have a job to do." Currently, he was on the roof of the facility. About fifty feet away he could see the ladder leading down. Between him and it, though, were several pits. And flying above those- 

"HEY!" Mega yelped as he suddenly found himself being hauled backwards through the air. Glaring up, he confirmed his suspicions; it was a UV-23, also known as "Mag Flies". Basically just a large magnet on a helicopter blade with eyes, UV-23s were used for transporting metal. And this one was dragging him towards the nearest scrap pit. 

"Not today..." Mega growled, forming his left arm into a buster and firing off several shots at the enemy. The plasma bullets whistled through the air before blasting into the Mag Fly, melting it into a lump of slag. Mega Man instantly dropped back onto solid ground. "I'll have to watch out for those..." He told himself. "Can't let one catch me while jumping a pit, or I'm in trouble." Now that he was expecting them, it was easy to shoot down the other Mag Flies as he moved across the pits to the ladder. Mega Man slowly climbed down into the mine... then screamed as the ladder ended abruptly, dropping him into an empty room with no other exits. 

"Greeeeeaaaat..." Mega Man moaned as he picked himself up. "Some kind of trap room... no, wait, that floor over there looks..." He broke off as a strange melody penetrated the silence sharply. It was a five-note whistle, echoing strangely about the room. _That tune... where do I know it from? _A moment later, another robot dropped from the ceiling on the other side of the room. 

"So you're the little blue troublemaker..." He said softly. The newcomer was humanoid, built almost exactly along the same lines as Mega. His armor, though, was of a silvery grey and brick-red instead. On his right arm he held a plasma-deflective shield, and his left arm was modeled into a buster with a vent on it. His head was a red helmet with a single blue eye glaring out from the black expanse of his "face". His most distinctive feature, however, was the bright yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. Mega Man frowned, taking a step forward. 

"And you would be...?" The stranger chuckled. 

"My name? It's not one I feel like saying... but you can call me Break Man." 

"All right, Break Man." Mega harrumphed, looking him over again. "Geez, pal. From the chest down, you look like a recolor of me." Break Man smirked. 

"Recolors were used in early-century sprite comics over the internet. I don't think they were ever applied to actual robots. And besides, at least I don't look like a friggin' bluebird." 

"Takes one to know one, bub. You call me a bluebird, but I ain't the one singing." Mega Man shot back. "Enough small talk. I assume you're the one who blocked up the floor?" 

"That's right." Break Man responded laconically. 

"May I ask why?" 

"So you wouldn't run away while I'm destroying you." 

"You're part of the Rebellion?" Mega Man frowned, raising his buster. Break Man chuckled, raising his as well. 

"Maybe. Maybe not. For now, all you need to know is this-you'll get no mercy from me. But if you beat me I'll open the floor up again. Let's get to it, shall we?" Break Man whistled once more before firing off a stream of plasma shots. Mega Man jumped to the side, dodging them and fired off his own. Break Man attempted to dodge but one of the shots pegged him on the arm. He stopped and inspected it, then looked up, smirking. 

"Nice shooting, Here, try this!" He began jumping across the room. Mega Man ran under, making sure not to get stomp- Break Man's plasma shot slammed into him, knocking him off balance. A moment later, the red and grey robot landed on his opponent, smashing him to the ground. 

"Not so good at dodging now, eh blue boy?" He snickered. Mega Man cursed; those two hits had knocked his operations energy down to 78%. If it went to 0... he would die, and his mission would be a failure. He would have lost, not to the Robot Master, but to some whistling wierdo. That was unacceptable. 

"I ain't done yet, Break Man!" Mega growled as he whipped his Buster behind his back and fired into Break Man's face, point blank. Screaming, the enemy fell off, and Mega Man kept up the attack, firing a barrage at his enemy nonstop as he got to his feet. Howling with rage, Break Man blocked as many as he could with his shield before charging forward. This caught Mega off guard, and the blue robot was smashed aside, taking another hit from Break Man's buster afterwards. 

"So, you just use a plasma buster too, eh?" Mega asked as he fired after the red robot. "Not too common a design... most robots have some kind of tricky attack individual to their model." 

"I'm special." Break Man smiled, returning fire. "One of a kind. I'm not part of a series." 

"Another thing we have in common." Mega smiled, firing off a carefully aimed retaliatory shot. Break Man calmly fired off a shot of his own to cancel it out... and the two plasma orbs met in midair and exploded. 

"ARGH!" When the flash from the shots' explosion had faded, Break Man's right arm sparking dangerously. 

"Ugh... I wasn't expecting that to happen. Next time I'll be more careful with my plasma. Can't use a buster like this, and my energy's getting pretty low. Methinks discretion may be the better part of valor." He tore his eye away from his arm and smiled at Mega Man. "Well, waddaya know, you won after all. Good job, kid. Until next time..." He pressed a button on his right arm, and the section of the floor he had patched up exploded as he teleported away. Mega Man looked up after him, brow creased in thought. 

"I don't know who that guy was... but I haven't seen the last of him. He was good, I'll give him that. Damn, my energy's down to 52%... He told me I did good as well, but that explosion was pure luck. That guy was strange... his fighting style and abilities were practically identical to my own. And he had the sense to run when he was beat... he's definately no ordinary Robot Master. I'll need to adjust my strategy the next time I meet him if I don't wanna end up as Metool fodder... the normal stuff won't cut it with this Break Man." 

*** 

"Hmph..." Dr. Light frowned, checking the schematics. "I hadn't reckoned on how much material we'd be needing to build Gamma... I'll need to make a run out for a truckload before we can even begin work. What am I saying? I'll need to hire out a hangar to put it in!" 

"That might be a bit tricky, considering them." Roll said, pointing at the throng of reporters still clamoring outside. Dr. Light sighed and covered his eyes. 

"At the moment, I'll settle for a temporary abatement of reporters." 

"Then I got just what you need." Roll grinned devilishly. "Eddie!" The little suitcase ran up. "Go on in the upgrade capsule, Ed." 

"The upgrade capsule?" Dr. Wily asked, confused. 

"Rightyo. Wrote a new thing just for him. Downloading Catapult upgrade... done. Now..." Roll hung a target on the opposite wall, then walked over to Eddie, who was emerging from the capsule. "Here ya go." She placed an orange in the suitcase, then pointed at the target. "Fire!" 

SPLORTCH! Eddie shot the orange out at amazing speed and accuracy, splattering it all over the wall. Dr. Light harrumphed. 

"Very nice. But I don't see how it can..." 

"Wait, wait, wait Tom." Dr. Wily stopped him, eyes shining. "Roll, can this new upgrade of yours handle multiple ammo?" 

"Yuuup." 

"Roll, you're a genius!" Cackling devilishly, the doctor emptied the contents of a nearby fruit bowl into Eddie, then pointed to the front door. "Eddie, go out and fire at the reporters!" The little brown robot obliged. The family didn't say a word as he nudged the door open and walked out to face the reporters, who grew quiet as the door opened. None of the reporters knew quite what to say as this strange little brown robot bent over and... 

"YOWP!" 

"WHOA!" 

"ARGH!" 

"D'OH!" 

"RUN FOR IT!" 

The three people inside the house nearly died from laughter. 

*** 

"Huh." Mega Man frowned as he dropped down. "Giant Springers. Wonder what those are doing here." Constructed to be Warbots, 530-GM Giant Springers were formidable though silly-looking opponents, with heavy armor, missile launchers and a close-range attack that smashed their car-sized mass into an opponent. "Magnus must've had them imported from his boss... can't be too many of them." As he dropped down, the Springer oriented on him and fired a blue missile from its top while inching towards the hero. Wordlessly, Mega Man blew it out of the sky before turning his Buster on the Springer itself. Missing the second missile which curved through the air above and behind him before- 

"AICH!" The explosion blew Mega Man forward into the Springer, which lived up to its name, launching its bulk on a man-sized coil and smashing Mega Man into a wall. Growling, the hero extricated himself and finished the Springer off before checking his energy. 

"Great... 29%. That fight with Break Man really busted me up... eh?" Walking over to the remains of the Springer, Mega Man picked up a small, glowing pod and smiled as he felt its power seep into him. Energy capsules were often used to supplement the power of less advanced robots; they were seperate from the rest of it, so were often left behind if it was scrapped. 

"Left for me to nab." Mega Man chuckled, moving on and wasting another Springer. If he suffered any major injuries, like a broken leg, it would need to be repaired back at Light's lab. But for minor injuries, a simple energy renewal did wonders. Down Mega Man went, blasting a pair of walking-eyeball Peterchies before dropping again to the fifth level of the mine. 

"Oh, great." The blue robot grumbled. "They're getting smarter." Embedded in the wall in front of him was a machine that emitted a magnetic pull, drawing him towards it. It couldn't actually hurt him, but the thing looked to be made of plasma-deflective alloys, so he couldn't stop it either. Blasting another pair of nosy Peterchies, Mega Man ran towards the machine and jumped onto the ledge above it. 

Or would have if he hadn't been pulled down by the machine so that the edge of the ledge slammed into his midsection, knocking him back down with a painful wheeze. 

"This might take a few tries..." After several attempts, he managed to get over it and the next ones. The hole in the floor down to the sixth level didn't have a ladder. Shrugging, Mega Man jumped down. As he did, a sudden pain in his right hand caused him to wince; it had caught on a ledge halfway down. Mega Man started to let go of the ledge, then stopped on a hunch; instead, he pulled himself up. He had to smile at what was there; a row of four small energy pods. 

"Some kind of storage..." He mumbled as he absorbed them all and checked his energy. "Back up to 69%. Very nice." He dropped down another floor and pulled up the map he had downloaded from Sennet. "7th floor down... this is the lowest, but I'll have to go up again before I can find the command center. And the Magnus who's in charge here, most likely. If he's up on current fashions, he'll be calling himself Attraction Man or Magnetic Man or something like that... gets old after a while." Shutting down the map, Mega Man looked ahead and groaned loudly. 

"Not this AGAIN..." He was referring to the large wall in front of him blocking his way except for the opening near the ceiling... and the bronze blocks that were appearing and disappearing. In both of the Robot Rebellions he had faced so far, Mega Man had run into the blocks that teleported in, hung in the air motionless without benefit of jets, then disappered again. He still didn't understand the technology. It was genius... and it always ANNOYED THE HELL OUT OF HIM. 

"This means either Wily's behind it after all... or whoever is has access to his technology." He shook his head. "Figure that out later. I don't have time to monkey around with these things... I know!" Opening up a menu in the corner of his eye, Mega Man selected an icon that would send out a call to Rush that he needed help. The dog would teleport to where he had started, then from there move under the teleport-blocking EM shield before teleporting again to Mega Man's current location. Sure enough, the red dog phased in and looked up at his master before barking and extending the spring on his back. Mega Man jumped on and was immediately launched upward, moving into the gap in the wall. He walked forward and looked down. The next room was almost a mirror-duplicate of the previous one, with one major exception; the floor was out. 

"Lovely. Can't call Rush here. Looks like I'm playing with blocks after all." Watching the blocks for a moment, Mega Man quickly learned the pattern. He jumped forward onto a block, waited a few seconds, then leaped forward onto another block just as it appeared, and from there to the top of the wall. The third room looked like the first, but it had another magnetic machine in the far wall. 

"That thing would be a problem... If I couldn't call Rush. The enemy wasn't expecting him." Bouncing off the dog's back again, Mega Man vaulted the wall. "Let's just hope they don't... aw, no..." The fourth disappearing-block room had both a missing floor AND a magnet machine. Sighing in resignation, the hero jumped forward onto the block-and the magnetic suction yanked him forward, over the edge. For a moment, Mega Man saw death, in the long fall below him that ended in jagged scrap... until he was saved by the block that phased in centimeters below him, albeit painfully. Thudding into the block, Mega Man quickly righted himself before the still-present suction pulled him off again. Jumping to a higher block, Mega Man managed to accomodate for the force this time, making his way to the ladder going up. 

"Phew... that was TOO damn close. Good thing there's no more blocks... eh?" There was a pipe in the wall about two feet in diameter, and on the other side of it... "A large energy pod!" If he could get his hands on it, it would bring him all the way back to 100% energy. "But that pipe's too small. I could slide through it, but there's no floor for me to stand on." Shaking his head regretfully, the blue robot kept climbing. At the top of the ladder, the entire floor was covered in deadly spikes. Several platforms were above them, providing a way across, but standing on the center one was... 

"A New Shotman?" The newest in plasma-firing warbots, the New Shotman was basically a head on feet. The upper portion of it resembled a sombrero; cannons on the side of the rotating disk "rim" fired plasma straight out while another on top launched shots in an arc that fell back down. A nasty opponent... especially when strategically placed over a spikebed. 

"Losers." Mega Man growled, jumping up to fire and ducking back down before he was hit. The Shotman lobbed an overhead shot, but Mega Man jumped back and fired again. Three more shots later, the enemy was slagged, and Mega Man moved up to where it had stood. 

"A ladder up, or a hole in the floor..." Realization dawned on him. "That must go to that large energy capsule!" Dropping down, he grasped the powerup and felt his energy rise to full. 

"Oh yeah... that Magnus is toast." 

*** 

"Hey, Doc Light!" The young man behind the counter called out. "How ya doing?" 

"Not good, Mark." Dr. Light responded wearily as he walked over. "I assume you've heard the news?" The young man rolled his eyes and made a rude noise. 

"Thhhpt. Who hasn't? Sheez, those newsies should be leashed and muzzled. Doc Wily still hanging out at your place?" Dr. Light nodded. 

"Yes, he is. He's not behind this one, Mark." The young man grinned and winked. 

"Hey, I already knew that! I ain't no backstabbin' newsman, Doc. I remember old Al from back when you two were first settin' up shop here, and I was just workin' a janitor's job at this place. Don't worry; I won't bite him. So, whatcha here for?" 

"A lot." Dr. Light frowned, taking out a list of materials. "I assume I can count on your privacy, Mark?" 

"As always." 

"All right. Here's the list of what we need." He slid the piece of paper across the desk, and Mark picked it up. After looking at it for a moment, he put on a pair of reading glasses and took another look before grimacing. 

"Doc, I think you made a mistake with the amounts needed..." 

"No, Mark, there's no mistake." Dr. Light shook his head. Mark read down the list, whistling. 

"Hoo-wee, Doc! What are you building, a building? ...Hold on there..." He blinked, then stared at the doctor over the top of the list. "Never mind the building, if I didn't know better I'd say you were building a tank! Or a nuclear power plant! I mean, geez, doc! Do you know how nasty the stuff you're asking for is?" 

"Yes, Mark." Dr. Light nodded. "Obviously, I won't be able to take it all now, even IF you had it all on hand. I'll take some of the common materials now, and come back for the rest of it-and the rarer stuff-later." Mark sat back, still staring at the paper. 

"Doc, I won't beat around the bush with you. A lot of this stuff is definately hard-core, top-of-the-line, highly restricted, whichever you prefer. Some of this is even restricted for the millitary's usage. I hope you've got a good politician on your side; you'll need it to persuade the higher-ups to let you have it." Mark pulled up a window on his computer. "For now, all I can do is give you the materials we have on hand; you'll need permission from the big guys before I can place an order for you." 

"I'll get it." Dr. Light said firmly. "For now, I'll take the truck around back." 

*** 

"Shit!" Magnet Man cursed as his computer detected the loss of his last Giant Springer. It had been his bodyguard, which meant Mega Man was right outside. Grumbling, the Robot Master looked to the door at the back of his room which led to the treasured Energen Crystal storage. "Well, let him come. I'm ready." 

"That's good to know." Mega Man said sarcastically as he stepped in. "I was afraid I'd be dropping in unannounced." 

"No, don't worry about it." Magnet Man chuckled darkly, turning to face him. "The dead robots you left in your wake tipped me off." 

"You would be the head Magnus here, then?" Mega Man inquired challengingly. His opponent nodded. 

"You can call me Magnet Man... or just call me your undertaker, whichever you prefer. Your record doesn't scare me; I'll blow you to smithereens!" 

"Brooooother!" Mega Man groaned sarcastically. "It;s always the same with you underling Robot Masters! 'This' man or 'that' man... Ever heard of originality?" 

"You won't be caring much about originality where you're going, Mega Man!" Magnet Man yelled, leaping towards him. Mega immediately ran forward as well, firing. Magnet Man landed in front of his opponent, then hopped over him, taking several hits. Upon landing behind Mega, he leaped straight up. 

"Eat some of this!" Howling, the robot master launched three missiles shaped like magnets straight out. At first, Mega thought this a foolhardy attack, as they were far too high; but then, the missiles made a perfect 90-degree turn and slammed right into him! 

"Argh!" Mega Man cried as the explosions knocked him on his back. "Homing missiles... great. But they're not truly homing, or it would have curved instead of making a clean turn... aah!" He rolled to the side as Magnet Man landed where he had been a moment before. Angrily, the blue robot peppered his foe with plasma bullets as he got to his feet. Magnet Man growled and squatted on the ground, becoming motionless. Mega frowned. 

"Wonder what he's doing. Let's see... stay here, shooting like a dumb bull and leave myself open to attack... or get some distance between us. DUR." Mega turned and ran. After a few seconds, he realized something odd; although he was running, he wasn't moving. "What the-?!" Looking over his shoulder, the blue hero saw some kind of strange distortion in the air surrounding his cackling adversary. 

"You like it, Mega Man? You forget what I was designed for! I'm called Magnet Man for a reason! Boy, are you dense." Snickering, the villain grabbed his opponent by the neck and slammed him to the ground before jumping across the room again. Angrily, Mega Man got back up only to meet another hail of Magnet Missiles. 

"Damn!" _This is NOT good. If he keeps this up, I'm toast... got to figure out some way to dodge. _

"I can't believe this." Magnet Man laughed. "YOU brought a halt to two Robot Rebellions? You're pathetic! I guess you just can't cope with the newer models." Inwardly, he winced; the shots Mega had landed had burned into him. But the little blue robot would never survive long enough to take him down. 

_New models... new! That's it! That new slide technique I picked up from Sennet Robotics! It's fast enough to get me away from that attraction of his, and if I time it right, I should be able to dodge those missiles!_

"I ain't done yet, magnet monkey!" Mega Man yelled, firing angrily. Harrumphing, Magnet Man took the shots confidently and jumped behind his opponent, activating his magnetic field again. 

"You just don't learn, do you? Come to papa... huh?!" Mega Man wasn't coming towards him; he was sliding away across the floor! 

"Yes! It works!" Reaching the other side of the room, Mega turned and fired off a barrage of plasma bullets, scoring heavily. Screaming in rage at his attack's failure, Magnet Man jumped up and fired off another series of Magnet Missiles. Mega Man slid again. 

_Let's just hope their homing is limited, and they can only turn once... come on... _Mega Man slid across... and all three Magnet Missiles missed, exploding behind him._ YES!!!_ Magnet Man landed just in time to be shot in the face repeatedly. Finally succumbing to the many plasma shots he had taken during the duel, he fell to the ground. Mega Man advanced, frowning. 

"THAT is how I stopped two Robot Rebellions, Magnet Man. I may take some hits at the start of a fight... but in the end, I always win." Magnet Man looked up at him, seemingly confused. 

"But.... how? I'm an advanced... Sennet design. You're old... obsolete..." 

"No." Mega Man frowned. "I am more than a robot. I am Mega Man." 

"You... it's impossible... I can't... lose... to you..." Magnet Man choked. Inwardly, he chuckled, tilting his launcher slightly so that it was aimed at his blue opponent's head. Mega frowned at his speech. 

"Can't lose? Well, guess what, bubsy. You just did." 

"No... I didn't... you did." Grinning treacherously, the robot master fired off the Magnet Missile he had been aiming. 

A millisecond later, plasma bullet met Magnet Missile an inch from his face, and everything went white. 

*** 

"Send Eddie out again, Roll. Tom's back with the materials." Dr. Wily groaned, observing his partner's truck coming into contact with the throng of rabid newsies. Once the little suitcase had chased them off, Dr. Light parked his truck in the garage and walked in. 

"I got all the common stuff we need, but not the rare. We should be able to start on the internals. We'll have to get official permission from the government before we can get the rest. Donald should be able to help us there." Dr. Light sighed. "I wonder how Rock's doing..." As if on cue, a blue blur phased in, and Mega Man stood before them. 

"Got 'im." He said tiredly, tossing a microchip to his sister. "You can give me the weapons system later. For now, I need to go into stasis." 

"The Energen Crystals... did you get them?" Dr. Wily asked anxiously. Mega Man surveyed him for a moment, then wordlessly dropped four red crystals, each the exact same size and shape, onto the table before walking out of the room. The german roboticist stared after him. 

"_Schiesse_, he must be exhausted; he didn't even ask how Gamma was doing." 

"I get the feeling he doesn't really approve..." Dr. Light said sadly. Dr. Wily raised an eyebrow. 

"What do you mean, he doesn't approve? Gamma will make sure he never has to fight again!" 

"Remember, Al, he's still a pacifist at heart." Dr. Light told his friend. "Gamma is a weapon of war." 

"Well, I can't really fault him for that." Dr. Wily sighed, looking at the plans. 

"Mm-hmm. We might as well get to work." 

"Mm-hmm." 


	6. Chapter 5: Top Of The Heap

**__**

Chapter 5: Top Of The Heap 

__

"Blah blah blah, grump grump grump! You're too serious, Sigma. That's the problem with all of you, Mavericks and Hunters alike. You're too tense. Loosen up, have some fun, enjoy what you're doing. If nothing else, it'll unsettle your opponent." -Mercenary Reploid Dynamo, shortly before the Eurasia Maverick Uprising 

"Hum de dum dum..." A dark figure sang as he sat down in front of his computer. "Time to see how my little friends are doing... what?!" He hissed as the screen lit up. Eight boxes showed his eight underlings. Seven were clear; the one showing Magnet Man was covered in static. 

"Magnet Man is dead..." The figure growled. "That overconfident fool. It HAD to be him that Mega Man went after first..." He shook his head angrily. "Well, the fool probably deserved it. Still, now Mega can use his weapon..." The figure growled, his eyes lighting with hatred. "It doesn't matter! I'll kill him anyways! Kill! Kill! KILL!" Shrieking with insanity, the figure lurched off into the shadows, thinking madly. 

_It's only Magnet Man. That's no sign of failure. One of the others will kill him, and I'll be free to move in on Wily! I WILL have vengeance... vengeance for the wrongs done to me by those two! They MUST pay! That is what I have done all this for... that is what has dominated my life for all this time... I must succeed!_ Silent once more, the figure moved back to his computer, and sent off a comm signal... 

*** 

"Hee hee hee hee hee!" Top Man giggled. "Oooh... an incoming call! I'll bet it's from the president!" Flicking on the vidscreen, he saluted sharply, his tongue flopping out. "At attention, milord Colonel Sanders! Elvis is ready for orders!" The dark figure scowled. 

"Top Man, shut up." The happy grin on his underling's face faded. "How's your status?" 

"Not baaaaad!" Top Man lowed. "A lot better than Dragnet Man! Didja order your Robot Master extra crispy? I call a wing!" 

"I said, shut up." His commander growled again. "Just making sure. Out." The screen clicked off, and Top Man turned away, scowling. 

"Ooohh, suuuuurrrre! Nobody's allowed to be insane except him!" Muttering to himself, the Robot Master walked down the hall. Top Man was unusual, even for a Spinstrike, which were notoriously erratic. They had a design flaw in their programming; one that only was made worse when the master had converted Top Man. Now, he was quite insane; he could even break his Master's Two Laws effortlessly. The master had told him to kill all the humans, but Top Man hadn't done it. What fun was that? No, he had kept them for whenever he was bored or frustrated... like now. It was so fun watching them as one part at a time was ground into a bloody froth, and hearing their agonized screams... 

"Energen Crystals... okee-dokee!" Top Man told himself as he looked in on the valuable crystal storage. All the yellow crystals were still there. Closing the door, he opened the next and smiled at the terrified humans inside. 

"HEEEEEEEYYYYY KIDS! IT'S TOPPY THE CLOWN!" 

*** 

"EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! DOCTORS LIGHT AND WILY PLAN ULTIMATE ROBOT!" The newsboy shrieked as Dr. Light's car drove by. Inside, the doctor congratulated his friend. 

"Excellent job, Donald. You've spread the word very quickly." Donald Richolds chuckled. 

"Thanks, doc, but I can't take the credit. It was Ced." 

"Cedric?" Dr. Wily asked quizzically. "How'd he do it?" 

"Ask him yourself." Light told him, pulling up outside Froid's manor in the forest. "We're here." The Froid manor was built in memorial of Cedric Froid's father, the Dr. Seymour Froid who built the water purification plant at New Shirewick as part of the famous Second Rainbow. The plant was still in continuous, neccessary use, and royalties from it kept flowing in, allowing Cedric Froid to build and maintain the manor. 

"Hey, guys." The doctor called, running out. 

"Ced, you young rascal, how'd you get the newspapers to print that?" Dr. Wily asked, grinning. Cedric smiled angelically as he got into the car. 

"I don't suppose you'd believe they did it out of the goodness of their hearts?" He suggested. Donald snorted. 

"Yeah, right. We're not talking about abstract concepts here, Ced. If they've got hearts, then I've got morality." 

"You're calling yourself immoral?" Dr. Light raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm a politician." 

"Point." Cedric agreed. "Okay, fine, I bribed the newsies." 

"MUCH more realistic." Dr. Wily told him. "Burn rubber, Tom. We need to get there and make our request ASAP so we can start this thing." 

"I'll tell you right now, guys, this isn't going to be easy." Donald warned the doctors. "Those guys at the UN are very careful about letting any of the materials you want out, and these amounts..." He shook his head. "And Al's history doesn't help either. Sorry, Albert, but it's the truth." 

"I know, Don." Dr. Wily said sadly. "I do have a lot to answer for." 

"Can I have another look at those plans?" Dr. Froid asked. 

"Sure." Dr. Light passed them up. Froid scanned them. 

"So, from what I can see, this thing is seperated into three layers. The titanium skeleton, the interior wiring and circuitry, and the outer armor and weapons." 

"That's right." Dr. Light agreed. "We've planned to pack Gamma with as many weapons systems as it can possibly hold. The Energen Crystals should take care of power issues, although we will need all eight." 

"Yeesh, no kidding." Dr. Froid said. "Flamethrowers, missile launchers, sub-zero blasters, electric pulsers, wristblades, incredible physical strength, tons of lasers everywhere... and the main cannon." He whistled. "Guys, are you sure about this? Think about what it could do if it fell into the wrong hands..." 

"That's why we're going to encode a 'fourth law' into it besides the normal three, directing it to only take orders from the two of us by DNA scan." Dr. Wily assured him. "And we'll destroy the programming codes as soon as he's finished, so there will be no way to change him." 

"We're here." Dr. Light announced, parking the hovercar. "Let's go make our petition." 

*** 

"Urgah..." Rock groaned, slowly coming to. "Goddamit. Again with the nightmares..." 

"Those always seem to pop up when there's a rebellion, don't they?" Roll asked him. "What was it this time?" 

"I was facing down Wily's Alian Hologram Pod again." Rock said gloomily. 

"Aaah." 

"But the end was different..." He said, getting out of the stasis pod. "After the final blow, the hologram didn't die. Instead, it shifted into Dr. Wily, and kept shooting at me. I couldn't fight back... then it turned into Achilles... Heracles... all of them, one by one. Then Dr. Light... then you... the whole time, firing shot after shot at me, and I couldn't shoot back. Then, finally, when I was just about dead, it changed one more time." 

"Into what?" Roll whispered. Rock shook his head. 

"Myself. That's when I woke up." Grunting, he walked over to the upgrade capsule. "But enough talk. Give me the weapon so I can go fight the next Robot Master." 

"Alright." Roll said, plugging the weapons chip her brother had taken from Magnet Man's corpse into the capsule. "The doctors are out; they're going in to make their request." 

"On Gamma?" Rock said absentmindedly as he felt the familiar tingle of the weapons copy. 

"Yare." 

"Well, okay then." Rock said, stepping out and phasing into his armor. "Magnet Missile successfully downloaded. Let's see..." He pulled up a map of the eight attack sites, with Magnet Man's dulled out. "Hmmm... I think I'll go to the Eucalyptus Forests of Australia. They've got Spinstrike Models there, right?" 

"Again, yare." Roll pulled up the computer files. "They were the easiest for our unknown assailant to corrupt due to a glitch in their programming. Very erratic." 

"I'll be ready." Mega Man smiled at his sister. "See you later." 

*** 

The eucalyptus forests of Australia were one of the biggest worldwide Treeborg reserves. One of the many casualties of World War III was 95% of the planet's arboreal population. One of the chief accomplishments of the Second Rainbow, the group of geniuses charged with saving the world, was creating Treeborgs. The Australian eucalyptus forests not only held thousands of treeborgs, but were also the only place on Earth where true eucalyptus trees could still be found, carefully being slowly brought back into the world. 

"And all that is being endangered now..." Mega Man said grimly. If he didn't retake this area fast, the whole planet would pay the price. He was standing on a layer of glass which protected the trees. Similar glass-covered leaves were overhead, and he could see a wall ahead. It seemed this entire place was made of the leaves protected by glass and circuitry. 

"Very well." Mega Man said, moving ahead. As he did, there was a rustling from the leaves below him. A Spinstrike. 

"Top Man, he's here." It whispered into its comm. A high-pitched cackle came back out. 

"Oh, phooey! I didn't have time to set out the mousetraps yet! Well, screw him! You hear me? SCREW HIM!" The Spinstrike blinked a few times, then shrugged and pressed a button on a small machine. 

"What the-?" Mega Man frowned as he saw something in front of him. It was a very large bolt, hanging motionless in the air. Mega Man thought for a moment. 

"I KNOW I've seen these before... wait... AH!" As his eyes grew wide with realization he dived to the side. Just in time; a nut the same size as the bolt blasted in, scraping the side of his head, and attached to the bolt. The two of them then flew down at the blue hero. 

"Oh, that's REAL friendly." Mega Man growled as he shot it down. "Nutton Boltons. This guy probably thinks he's clever..." He stopped as he saw another Bolton waiting over a small rise. He smirked. "Not this time." Raising his buster, he shot it... and his shot fizzed out. "Oh yeah... they have a shield up until they join to avoid interference. How to activate it without getting tagged like last time..." Mega thought for a moment, then made a small jumb straight up, the top of his head barely coming to the Bolton's level. As he landed, the Nutton flew over and attached, and he blew the completed robot away. In this manner he made his way across, dealing with the hopping froglike Kerogs as well. At the end was an energy capsule that repaired the hits he had taken, and he climbed down a ladder. 

"Maybe I should take a look at the-WHOA!" The ladder ended abruptly, and Mega Man fell a good fifteen feet. "Oof! I'll bet the boss thinks he's reeeaall funny..." Mega got to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. He was standing at the foot of a large staircase. At the top of it was-"A Komasaburo. Figures." Komasaburos were short-range transport robots of a sort; they constantly produced hollow tops which traveled straight out as far as they could. 

"Of course, the lead Spinstrike's probably modified them to put bombs in their tops." Mega growled as he moved up the stairs. The Komasaburo glared down at him before releasing one of its tops, which he blasted into scrap. Another top, another blast, and he was at the top. Mega quickly fired several rounds straight into the hole in the thing's body that the tops came out of, and the robot collapsed. Mega climbed down the ladder behind it... and fell off an abrupt break again. Getting back to his feet, the little blue robot saw a barrier in front of him. "Hmmm." He tried jumping it and failed. "Well, this is great... wait." There was a small tunnel at the base of the barrier that looked just the right size for him to slide through. He got down on his hands and knees and looked in. 

"Hm... a large weapons energy pod." He frowned. "But the only secondary weapon I have right now is my Magnet Missile, and that doesn't need refilling. I think I'll go up over instead. Rush!" He summoned the dog and jumped onto the barricade. Three small energy pods were there. 

"...I don't need these either. Heh, figures. Well, onward." He climbed down another ladder. In the leaves behind the glass, the trailing Spinstrike spoke into his comm again. 

"He's at point B, and he's in excellent shape." 

"He's ship-shape!" The response came back. "Or shop-shape, or shit-shape! DEPLOY THE JACKHAMMERS!" 

"Oof!" Mega Man fell off his ladder onto the glass again. "I'm getting tired of that happening..." Ahead, there were two straight halls, one on top of the other. "Hmm. I think I'll take the high road again." Another step from Rush helped him up. As Mega Man walked on, he suddenly heard a massive crashing noise from below. 

"What the hell? Suddenly, I think I made the right decision taking this path... what the?!" Ahead, past a break in the floor, was a giant jackhammer being driven by a miner robot. "A Pickerman Bull?! I thought those had been discontinued!" Apparently they hadn't; the robot paced back and forth noisily. Mega frowned and looked at the gap in the floor. 

"Well, I could drop down there back to the lower floor..." He poked his head down to look. He never saw the Spinstrike moving out of the leaves, walking through the hole in the glass, and kicking him in the butt. With a yelp, Mega Man pitched forward, and his hands barely managed to grab the edges of the gap. The Spinstrike disappeared back into the eucalyptus. 

"Hey, what gives? Somebody kicked me..." Mega growled as he hung by his arms. "Good thing I managed to... to..." He stopped at the sight of the Pickerman Bull coming full blast. "SHIT!" Straining, the blue robot managed to pull himself up less than half a second before the attacker rushed by. Mega Man wiped his brow; robots couldn't sweat, but he felt like he was releasing bucketloads. 

"That was TOO close. Looks like I'm taking the high road... at least I can take down the one up here without getting too close." He frowned at the P.B. across the gap. The only vulnerable part was the head of the driver; everything else was too armored. He could just use his buster, but that would take a while. 

"Time to try out my new weapon..." Mega said as his colors shifted to red and grey, signifying his selecting the Magnet Missile. "Here goes." He fired off a single missile... which flew straight out, hitting the lower portion uselessly. "Huh? Is the guiding system malfunctioning? No, wait. It can't tell the difference between vulnerable parts. It just goes for robots. Hmph, easily remedied..." He jumped and fired again. The Missile flew out straight once more, this time hitting the enemy's head and exploding, destroying it. The Pickerman Bull fell forward, through the gap, and landed on the one below, crushing it. Mega smiled. 

"Very nice. I like this. Hmm... now that the one down there's out too, should I stay high or go low?" He thought for a moment, then spied another low tunnel on the higher level. 

"High. It can't have been easy getting that heavy lug up here; he must've been guarding something." He slid under and found another large energy pod. "Man, this guy's a pro at sticking these things where I DON'T need them. Dammit." Moving on, Mega climbed down another ladder. This time, though, he managed to stop himself from falling off when the ladder suddenly ended, and hung on by one hand. 

"Hmm. Metools below." The Metool "hard hats" were the first robot designed by Drs. Light & Wily, and were highly popular. They were mainly a walking head with a plasma welder and a protective hardhat. 

"Ten bucks says they've been modified to shoot plasma bullets instead of just welding..." Mega muttered to himself. They were currently in the "rest" position, completely covered by the hat. Any motion near them would set them off. Dropping down, Mega fired twice, wiping both out as soon as they raised their hats. Down another ladder and... 

"Whoa!" Mega said, surprised. In front of him on a higher level was a giant robotic brown tomcat. As he stared, it growled menacingly and spat out something resembling a huge ball of yarn. The way it knocked Mega Man flat as it bounced across was definately unyarnlike, though. That jolted him back to his senses. 

"Oh, that is so not funny..." Mega growled. He had heard rumors that Sennet had been developing a new warbot, the FDB-14 "Tom". It looked like the rumors had been true. 

"Stupid cat..." Rock growled as he started firing while jumping the next yarnball. "First I have to fight giant robotic dogs in the Second Rebellion, and now this?" Finally, he blew the cat away and climbed down the ladder behind it, grumbling. 

"What's next? Homicidal parakeets?" 

*** 

"So, doctors." The speaker said smoothly. "Perhaps it is time you showed us these plans of yours?" The petition had been going on for an hour, and the balance of favor was pretty well divided down the middle. Thanks to modern technology, the entire United Nations committee appeared in the courtroom. In actuality, it was all a hologram; the only real people here were Light, Wily, Froid and Richolds. A similar hologram of those four was undoubtably appearing in the UNHQ. Dr. Light cleared his throat and pressed a button, causing the lights to turn off and a hologram of the blueprints to appear in the air. Dr. Wily stood up. 

"Gamma is equipped with as many weapons systems possible to load onto him. Aside from his incredible physical strength, with which he may pulverize a tank with one punch, he will be equipped with wristblades, electric pulse blasters, flamethrowers and lasers on the arms, sub-zero blasters and missile launchers on the shoulders, plasma blasters and launchers in the head, lasers all around the waist, and the main cannon capable of vaporizing a small mountain. In terms of defense, Gamma will have multiple armor layers of the strongest alloys all over his body. He will also have the ability to extend a barrier of bubble lead around himself for underwater use. All of this will be powered by the energy core, which will utilize the energen crystals discovered by Sennet Robotics." Amazed murmurs filled the room as the people absorbed this. One man raised his hand. Darwin Vinkus was an old "friend" of the Doctors; a fellow member of the Second Rainbow, he had been the leader of the anti-robot half in the debates that had eventually resulted in the Second Rainbow's downfall. 

"Doctors, with all due respect, I believe this robot is far too risky. What would happen if this robot were to fall into the wrong hands? Would anything be able to stop it?" Dr. Light nodded. 

"These are reasonable concerns. However, we are already ahead of you, and have planned to make sure this never occurs. We shall ingrain the Three Laws into him, as well as another prime command that directs him to obey none other than ourselves, by DNA scan. Also, we shall program him so that ANY attempt to modify his code at ANY time will cause him to immediately shut down." 

"And if he decides to become destructive by himself?" Vinkus inquired. 

"He will not be able to. Gamma will not possess the intelligence of the Robot Masters." 

"Well, very well, then." Vinkus nodded. "Next. WHY is this neccessary?" 

"To stop the Robot Rebellions!" Dr. Wily growled. "As you all know, we have recently learned that they continue, even without me! How do we know there won't be a fourth, or a fifth, or even more Rebellions? Gamma will be needed to halt them!" 

"Nothing personal, mister Wily..." Vinkus sneered. "But we still do not have any proof that you are not behind this again. Until we discover who IS doing this, you are still under suspicion." He frowned. "And besides, Mega Man seems to be doing an adequate job. Why can't he just continue?" 

"He CAN'T." Dr. Light said pleadingly. "He's already done it twice, and each time has been hell for him! If it keeps up, he could suffer a complete mental breakdown!" 

"Dr. Light, you talk like he was a human." Vinkus shook his head mockingly. "Mega Man is a robot. As such, there should be no psychological-" 

"Mr. Vinkus, have you ever personally been in a war?" Cedric Froid interrupted suddenly, his face coldly furious. The man frowned. 

"Well... no." 

"Have you ever been in any kind of battle?" Dr. Froid asked. 

"No." 

"Then SHUT UP." Astounded murmurs filled the room. "You have no idea what kind of mental agony and torture war inflicts. Mega Man is a robot, yes, but he is a robot with mental capacity almost equal to a human! Far beyond a robot, and beyond even the Robot Masters! He suffers the repercussions of war as keenly as I do." He looked upon his opponent with scarcely concealed hatred. "You have never known what it is like; therefore, you have no right to judge those who have suffered it." 

"Ahem..." The head of the council rapped his gavel. "I believe we have heard all that needs to be said. We shall now adjourn to vote on our decision." 

*** 

"Damn cat." Mega cursed as he moved past the ruins of the second FDB-14. "Bad enough that they spew hairballs, now they have to give 'em robotic fleas." Grabbing an energy capsule to refill his energy, Mega climbed up a ladder and found himself in a room barely large enough for him to stand up in. The only exit was a pipe that he could slide through. "Hmph. This smells like a trap, but there's nowhere else to go..." Shrugging, he slid in. At the end was a room just as narrow as the first. Mega scratched his head. "Now where?" 

With a resounding smash, a top bashed him on the head. Mega growled and hopped up to the ledge above him, which held another low pipe. Before sliding in, he fired a plasma bullet and smiled as he heard the top explode. On the other side, a Komasaburo waited on a ledge above the pipe. A few shots blew it into slag, and Mega continued on. Behind him, the spying Spinstrike activated its comm once again. 

"He's at the great pit. As long as the tops are off, he'll never get across." 

"But then, what fun is that, Bobby?" Top Man growled. "I wanna play with him! Activate the Tip Tops!" Sighing, the Spinstrike obeyed. 

"Dammit!" Mega yelled, looking at the giant pit in front of him. If he fell down there, there would be no way out. He could see the door to the Robot Master on the other side, but... "Huh?" Below, in the pit, a hatch was opening, and out came a spinning top big enough for him to stand on, going straight up. Looking up, he saw another hatch in the ceiling beyond it opening as well. 

"Oh well, not like I have a choice. Geronimo!" He jumped onto the top, waited for the second to come to his level, then jumped to it, and then to the next. In that manner he made it across and walked in the door. 

"GREETINGS, MARS MAN!" A raucous voice shouted as soon as he entered the room. Standing in the center was a Spinstrike, its eyes rolling insanely. "MAY I INTRODUCE... TOPPY LE FOU!" 

"You're nuts." Mega growled. The Spinstrike nodded. 

"Yes, yes, I am! How very bright of you to figure that out! Here's your prize... hey, Vanna! Move it!" Reluctantly, another Spinstrike walked into the room behind Mega. The blue robot's eyes narrowed. 

"You were trailing me the whole time, weren't you?" The second Spinstrike nodded, and the insane one cackled. 

"Yes, Bobba is a very good servant! Here's your reward, Bob!" Laughing insanely, the Robot Master snapped his subordinate's neck with a swift kick. The unlucky underling fell over, lifeless. Mega's eyes narrowed even further. 

"You kill your underlings for following your orders. You really ARE insane... but I'll destroy you." The Spinstike nodded, smiling. Mega frowned. "You're agreeing that I'll destroy you?" Another nod. "...Is Richard Nixon an iguana?" Nod. "That's what I thought. You're an idiot." Nod. "Stop it already!" 

"Why?" 

"Because I said so!" 

"Why?" 

"Because I did!" 

"Why?" 

"SHUT UP!" The blue robot finally screamed. Those two words caused the Spinstrike's smile to instantly fade into an angry frown. 

"Very well, then. If you're going to be rude, I'll just kill you. By the way, my name's Top Man... like it'll do you any good." With those threatening words, Top Man suddenly launched three tops into the air. A moment later, they all crashed into Mega Man. 

"Hey!" Mega yelled, firing back. With a smirk, Top Man started spinning in place, deflecting the shots with ease. 

"Wheeee! I'm a spinner!" 

"What the hell are you doing?" Mega Man asked, staring at the spinning fool. Suddenly, Top Man shot forward, smashing into him and flinging him into the far wall. 

"AICH! That hurt!" Angrily, the blue robot turned and fired. Top Man took the shots, smirking. "What's so funny?" Calmly, the robot master pointed up. Mega looked just as the tops smashed into him again. "Dammit!" 

"Aww... am I too fast for you?" Top Man asked as he started spinning again. "Well, at least your death will be fast too!" This time, though, Mega managed to hurdle his enemy as he shot forward. 

"Nice try. Here, eat this!" Switching to the Magnet Missile, he fired off a few rounds. They homed in on the next line of tops and blew them out of the sky, hitting Top Man as well. Hissing, the Robot Master tried his spin move again, but Mega jumped once more and Missiled him again, smirking. 

"Your weakness is your pattern, Toppy. Now that I know exactly how to dodge you, I can take you down easily." And he did just that, firing off Magnet Missiles and plasma bullets until Top Man finally screamed as his legs were blown off. Mega advanced, buster ready, and saw the smile on his opponent's face. 

"Good fight, Mega Man, but he who laughs last laughs best! HA HA HA HA HA!" Top Man laughed insanely. He laughed and laughed and laughed. 

He laughed until the final plasma bullet struck between his eyes, ending his robotic life. 

"Hmm. This time was a lot easier. Seems like my old abilities are coming back... or maybe it was just that his insanity limited his danger." Mega Man talked to himself as he searched for Top Man's weapons chip. "Aha... found it. Now for those crystals..." There were two doors in the back of the room. Mega looked in one, closed his eyes and quickly slammed the door. "Wrong way. DEFINATELY wrong way. That must have been where he kept hostages... ugh. The Crystals must be in here." He opened the other door and smiled at the orange crystals glittering back at him. Collecting them, he warped away, leaving only Top Man's corpse in the room. 

A few minutes later, the door to the outside opened, a whistle sounded, and somebody walked in. Somebody with brick-red armor, a yellow scarf, and a single blue eye. 

"Humph." Break Man said, glaring around the room. "Looks like I was too late... blue boy got here before me." He walked past the corpse and checked the rooms before swearing angrily. "God-fricking-DAMN-it all. He took all the crystals." Kicking Top Man, he also warped away. 

*** 

"So, Top Man has fallen as well..." The shadowy figure murmured with a smile. "Mega has fallen neatly into my trap. Mwa ha ha ha! Hee hee hee hee hee! Hohohohoho!" He frowned. "But still... it may not kill him. I should plan for that eventuality." His frown deepened into an insane scowl as he thought about the new information he had. It was a furious struggle; he had to destroy the Energen Crystals, but without them, there would be nothing to get Mega to come, since all the humans were already dead. Scanning his map, he suddenly got an idea. 

"Talk about killing three birds with one stone! I can lay a trap to kill Mega, destroy the crystals, and make him face one of the deadliest of the bunch at an early time all at once! And that's all if he survives the Top Man trap!" Snickering, he opened a channel. "About time I did something with my territories aside from holding them..." 

*** 

"Hey, everybody! I'm back!" Mega man called as he teleported in. Rush immediately tackled him and Roll smiled, looking over her shoulder from the computer. 

"Hey, Rock. The doctors should be back soon." As if on cue, a car pulled up outside. Rock pushed Rush off of himself and went downstairs with Roll. The two doctors and Richolds came in, all grinning wildly. 

"WE GOT PERMISSION!" Dr. Light whooped, hugging his son. "They gave us full agreement in building Gamma! Now all we need is a sponsor!" 

"As a matter of fact, we may just have that." Roll said, smiling as well. "Come over here." She punched in a number on the comm, and a man's face appeared. He was as old as Drs. Light and Wily, but still held a full head of wild hair and a bushy beard. He wore a pair of sunglasses and a black robe. 

"Ah, hello! My friends, my name is Olivier Xanthos. You may know me better by my nickname, Mr. X." 

"The billionaire?" Richolds yelped. 

"The same. I have called for a reason; I have heard of your 'Gamma' project, and I wish to sponsor it." 

"You do?" Dr. Light asked quietly. "It will cost an incredible amount of..." 

"Cost is of no importance to me." Mr. X said, waving his hand. "I will pay whatever is neccessary." 

"Forgive me, but why are you doing this?" Dr. Wily asked. "What are your reasons?" 

"My reasons? Well, Dr. Wily, consider it a favor to you." Mr. X said solemnly. "You see, I share a past similar to yours. I know as well as you do how hard it can be to atone for past sins." 

"Nothing personal, Mr. X, but I doubt your sins were as bad as mine." Dr. Wily said dryly. 

"Oh, I might surprise you." The billionaire said sadly. "You see, in my youth I was a weapons dealer in the Third World War." Everybody in the Light room gasped, choked, or had some other means of showing surprise. "I have repented that for many years now, and used my money to attempt and resolve my burden of shame. I can think of no better use for my wealth than to keep such a thing from ever occuring again." 

"Thank you, Mr. X." Rock said. The billionaire nodded and ended the comm. Dr. Light slowly smiled. 

"This is going faster than I had hoped... we may even be able to finish Gamma before the end of this Rebellion! Oh, speaking of which, did you get the crystals, Rock?" 

"Yeah." Mega Man turned over the orange crystals. "I also got Top Man's weapons chip. Let's go put it in now." The group went up to the lab, where Mega Man got into the capsule. Roll inserted the chip, and they all waited. 

"What's wrong?" Richolds asked after a while. "Nothing's happening!" 

"I dunno..." Roll frowned. "Maybe it's..." 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!" Mega Man suddenly began shrieking at the top of his lungs, and smoke rose from the weapons capsule. Cursing in german, Dr. Wily pulled the plug and threw open the capsule. Mega tumbled out, motionless. 

"Rock! ROCK!!!!!" 


	7. Chapter 6: And In The Darkness Bind Them

**__**

Chapter 6: And In The Darkness Bind Them 

_"Don't worry, Master X. Zero doesn't stand a chance against me. Oh, the other two may have powerful abilities, but Harpuia is an arrogant fool and Fefnir is an insane maniac. They lack true skill, they don't have the proper mindset. It stands to reason they'd lose to him. Zero is good, very good, as I'm sure you remember. But he's not good enough to beat me." -Corrupt Hunter General Phantom, during the Neo Arcadia "Maverick Uprising"._

"Hmph." Shadow Man grumbled, looking at the incoming call. "I wonder how many times he's going to do this.." The comm switched on, revealing his master. "Greetings. Everything is going according to schedule." 

"The eruption?" His master asked impatiently. Shadow Man nodded. 

"All ready. Have you discovered the extent of Mega Man's survival?" 

"Not yet." The master admitted. "Oops, just a second. I feel some insanity coming on." With that, he pulled away from his screen and started running around the room gibbering. Shadow Man raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. A grim, serious robot, he had little patience for anything ridiculous. His Master was the only one he tolerated it from. In his eyes, it was actually a good thing that Mega Man had killed that fool Top Man. In thanks for that, Shadow Man vowed to make Mega Man's death as quick and painless as possible if he met him. About five minutes later, the Master stopped and walked back to the comm. 

"Thank you. At any rate, I'll contact you when I want you to begin the eruption." He shut off the comm, and Shadow Man went back to his studies of Mega Man's previous battles and strategies. The First Robot Rebellion, in which Wily had stolen the Lighttech Robots and used them on the world... The Second Robot Rebellion, in which Wily had built his own eight for another try... and particularly what had passed so far of the third. He also had analysis of Magnet Man's and Top Man's weapons, which Mega Man now possessed. Most of his colleagues, particularly Gemini Man and Needle Man, would think this ridiculous. Still... 

"It never hurts to be prepared..." 

*** 

"Looks like you fell into my trap, Rock!" Top Man howled. Rock stared at the laughing fool. 

"What trap? You're dead!" 

"Sooo? You thought I was dead once before, didn't you?!" 

"What ARE you babbling about?" Rock growled. Top Man danced over and starting dancing the Funky Chicken. 

"Maybe this will help!" Suddenly, Top Man was gone and Magnet Man stood in his place. Rock stumbled back. 

"What the hell?" 

"You see, I can never die!" Magnet Man hissed. "I shall never die until you are gone!" He blurred, and became Dr. Wily, behind the controls of his hellish, bloodstained Wilymachine, which he had used to slaughter thousands. 

"DIE, MEGA MAN!" Wily screeched, and Rock found to his horror that he couldn't move an inch. Wily blasted away at him until only an inch of his life remained... then stopped. Rock forced his eyes open to see the mad doctor jump out of his machine and stalk forward, a laser in his hand. He stopped over Rock and sneered down, eyes dancing with insanity. 

"Rock, you will PAY! ROCK! ROCK! ROCK!" 

"Aaaah!" Rock screamed, launching himself off the bed and knocking the surprised Dr. Wily on his ass. Roll quickly ran over and restrained her brother. 

"Rock? What's the problem?" 

"A dream... it was just a dream..." He panted. 

"Another nightmare?" Dr. Light asked sadly. Rock nodded, then looked up. 

"What happened to me? The last thing I remember was getting the Top Spin installed... then, excruciating pain before I blacked out." 

"You're lucky that's all that happened." Donald Richolds said grimly, walking over to him. "Was there anything unusual about the Robot Master?" 

"Yes..." Rock frowned. "He was insane. Full-bore loony." 

"We gathered as much." Dr. Wily informed him. "That Weapons Chip was corrupted. Definately bad juju. If it had been completely installed... the corruption would spread to the rest of you, making you nuttier than him. But since we pulled you out of it, we were able to fix the damage." 

"Okay, what's the catch?" Rock asked. Wily sighed. 

"You've been around me too long. The catch... the Top Spin is incomplete and chaotic. The Weapons Energy is highly volatile, and there's no way of predicting how much each shot will use. Plus, there's a good chance that it won't work at all, and even if it does, it'll only be at half capability, so it's not very effective. All in all, I highly recommend against using it except in an extreme emergency." 

"Greeeeaaaat." Mega groaned. "Any more bad news?" The other four in the room exchanged a glance, then wordlessly moved over to the computer. Mega followed. 

"This is Mt. Vesuvius. It's the site of the Black Energen Crystal mine, being controlled by Ripwood Models." 

"Yeah, I know." Mega commented. "Ripwoods are one of the most dangerous models, so I was planning on waiting until near the end before taking them on." 

"I'm afraid that choice is no longer available." Dr. Light said. "We've detected seismic activity from the volcano... I'm afraid that they're trying to reactivate it." 

"God!" Mega choked. "If that volcano erupts, it'll incinerate the area for miles around!" 

"Not only that, but the Energen Crystals will be destroyed, and we won't be able to complete Gamma." Dr. Wily added. 

"God forbid that..." Mega grumbled. "Well, it looks like my choice has been made for me. I'm off to there, and let's hope I can take out the lead Ripwood before the eruption commences." The doorbell rang. 

"I'll get it..." Roll said. She walked down the stairs. As Mega prepared to leave, Dr. Light spoke up. 

"Rock, there's something more you should know. If you succeeed, try to bring back some extra Energen Crystals. The black ones can be used to upgrade Rush." 

"Can do." Mega said, and warped out. A moment later, Roll came upstairs with Dr. Froid. 

"How is he?" The doctor asked anxiously. Dr. Light smiled. 

"He's fine." 

"Good." Froid wiped his brow. "I'll admit, I was scared. But it looks like things turned out okay." 

"Yeah." Dr. Wily nodded. "Excuse me, I have a phone call to make, then me and Tom are going to work on Gamma." 

*** 

"Bingo..." Shadow Man said softly as his teleport detecters went off. "Here's Mega Man." He frowned, deep in thought. His master had told him not to begin the eruption unless he called. "Looks like I'll have to wait..." A small smile crossed his face. "Not that I mind taking him out myself." The detectors sounded off again. "Huh?!" Checking them, he found that another robot was warping in. "That signal looks vaguely familiar... wait!" Dashing over to his information, Shadow Man confirmed the second teleport being the mysterious Break Man who had shown up at the previous two places. "Who is that guy? Well, no matter. The fact that he fought Mega Man does not make any difference... he shall die as well if he crosses my path." 

*** 

"This is nice." Mega grumbled. "Real pleasant decoration." He was standing on a ledge above a long drop. Behind him, a river of lava fell in a mockery of a waterfall. The heat given off by the lava seemed to be the only source of light in the underground complex; fortunately, as far as he could tell it ran through most of the place. "I guess this guy likes the dark..." Shrugging, Mega Man jumped down past a New Shotman and landed below. Blasting some froglike Kero Hoppers and a way-too-pushy Pickerman Bull out of the way, he jumped down the hole in the floor to the next level. 

"This looks familiar..." Mega grumbled. The room was completely empty, with no way out, and rather dark due to the lack of nearby lava. A moment after Mega landed, a five-note whistle sounded, and Break Man appeared on the other side of the room. 

"We meet again, Mega Man..." Break Man said softly. "I'm very angry with you for killing Top Man and taking the Energen Crystals before I could." 

"Gee, what a shame." Mega said sarcastically, readying his buster. "What do you want those for, anyways?" 

"Oh, like I'm gonna tell you." Break Man replied snidely. "At any rate, it's nothing personal, but I'm gonna have to kick your ass for that." 

"That's alright." Mega smirked. "I fully intend to kick your ass instead, so we're even." Break Man smirked. 

"Well, now that the pleasantries are out of the way..." The red robot charged, firing his buster wildly. Mega charged forward as well, firing back. As they passed each other, Break Man suddenly stopped and crouched. 

"What the-?" Was all Mega could get out before his foe flipped him in a shoulder throw, slamming him into a wall. Groaning, Mega got to his feet-and was promptly knocked back down by a plasma shot in the back. Angrily, he jumped up again, dodging the next shot this time and turning around. 

"Cute trick. I see Buster fighting isn't your only way of attacking." 

"I manage." Break Man said dryly, moving forward again in a series of jumps. Mega Man stood his ground, moving only slightly to dodge the shots while returning fire. As Break Man reached his side of the room, the red-and-grey robot smiled inwardly, preparing to land on his opponent, who couldn't get away in time. However, he was wrong; Mega Man slid under him, and Break Man landed off-balance, falling flat on his face. 

"HEY!" Break Man pried his mug off the stone as several blasts hit his rear. Snarling, he flipped back up to his feet. 

"That was a fluke." 

"Oh, no it wasn't." Mega smirked. "You're not the only one with cute tricks." 

"Then do it again, hotshot!" Break Man screamed before dashing ahead again. Mega charged as well, both of them firing the whole time, and when Break Man tried to tackle Mega, he slid again. This time, though, he slid straight for Break Man, knocking him off his feet and into a wall. 

"How's it feel? Like your own medicine?" Mega asked, blasting some more. Break Man peeled himself off the wall before bounding forward in the same jumping/shooting pattern he had used before. Mega switched to Magnet Missile and shot, then slid once more, going under Break Man's jump and shooting him again in the back. Both missiles hit. The enemy landed and turned to face his blue adversary, smoking from the damage. 

"Nice moves, kid. Looks like you won this time, too... next time I'll choose terrain that's more to my advantage." He teleported out, and a section of the floor exploded like the last time, revealing the path onward. 

*** 

"Mr. Xanthos! This is a pleasant surprise!" Dr. Light cheerfully greeted the billionaire as he walked up to the factory. 

"Dr. Light." Mr. X smiled and shook the doctor's hand. "I thought I might come down and see how things were progressing." 

"Of course! Follow me, please." Dr. Light led the way into the factory. 

"I have heard of Mega Man's misfortune." Mr. X said as they walked through the halls. "Is he all right?" 

"He's fine." Dr. Light assured him. "As a matter of fact, he's at Vesuvius right now, recovering it from the Ripwoods." 

"Excellent." Mr. X chuckled. Dr. Light nodded and opened a door. 

"Ah, we're here." The two men walked in, and Mr. X gasped in surprise at the sight before him. 

"This is the first stage of construction, and I'm afraid it's very expensive." Dr. Light informed him. "The skeleton must be made of the strongest possible alloys. Its cost of production will run in the millions by itself. We are lucky you are funding us; otherwise, we would have been sunk." Mr. X's face had sagged slightly at the mention of the price, but now it stiffened. 

"Dr. Light, I will pay for it all. I would pay for it if the entire thing was constructed of Titanitefloalloy!" 

"It is!" Dr. Light said cheekily. Mr. X laughed. 

"I should have known!" A revolutionarily tough alloy, titanitefloalloy was the most durable material known to man. It was completely impervious to most known weapons systems, including plasma, and durable enough that a single two-by-four rod could support a tank without being crushed. Unfortunately, it was also very expensive to produce, especially in large amounts, which was why constructing Gamma's skeleton carried such a high pricetag. 

"We've brought in workers from Lighttech factories from all over the world to work on this, both human and robot." Dr. Wily announced as he walked up. "It starts at with the human workers, who produce the Titanitefloalloy. You see that vat over there? Once the titanitefloalloy's produced, we're having our Icarus models carry it over and dump it in there, and our Helios and Hephaestus models heat the Titanitefloalloy in the vat until it turns molten. Once the vat is filled with molten titanitefloally, we'll pour it into the mold, where our Orpheus models cool it. Then, after it's cooled, we have the Achilles and Heracles models fix all the defects and imperfections in the frame. The Achilleses spot them, and the Heracleses hammer them out. Then we move on to the next segment." 

"Efficient." Mr. X decided. "How soon can we expect completion of this?" 

"The skeleton should be done within two days." Dr. Light said after checking a datapad. "After that, we'll get to work on the wiring. Me and Dr. Wily have already done all the planning, so the actual physical work is all that's left." 

"Very well." Mr. X nodded. "I'll see you later, then." 

*** 

"What the hell is that thing?" Mega Man stared up at the strange machine on the ceiling. It looked like a glass dome filled with delicate circuitry. Strangely familiar... "That resembles the machine that created the Alian hologram for Wily at the end of the Second Robot Rebellion... is he behind... no, it can't be the same thing. That thing's about ten times smaller." Shrugging, he tried firing at it, but it was out of his range for accuracy. "Nertz. Looks like I'm moving in-WHAT THE?!" As soon as he had gotten close to it, he suddenly found himself surrounded by deep space! Stumbling around, Mega Man fell off a ledge and landed on his face. 

"OOF!" Pulling himself up, he got to his feet... then fell back down a moment later as an explosion out of nowhere caught him. "Slaggin' fraggin'... hey, wait a sec! The floor's still here! This is just a freakin' hologram after all. If I wipe out the machine..." But there was the problem; when he had fallen off the ledge, he had lost track of the machine. And with the hologram up, he couldn't find it again. He thought about it for a moment, then smiled and fired off a pair of Magnet Missiles. Two explosions were followed by the room returning to normal. 

"Well, either I'm right and Wily's behind this, or somebody's copying his technology... and whoever it is is very skilled with hologram technology to make that much of a size reduction, Memo to self; from now on, take those things out BEFORE they activate." Mega growled. He moved through the room, blasting more holograph machines as well as the grenadelike Walking Bombs (which must have been the thing that exploded on him while he was under the first hologram.) At the end, he was at a fairly good 85% energy, but his Magnet Missile was down to 50%. "Damn. Let's hope there's no need for that soon." Dropping down to the next level, he happily grabbed the collection of small Weapons Capsules strewn across the floor, bringing the Magnet Missile back up to 75%. The downside of this was not seeing the Kero Hopper until he had already been hit. Angrily, he blew it away along with the others following, then went on ahead. A moment later, he slammed on the brakes. 

"Whoa!" In front of him was an amazing sight; a massive sea of lava. It seemed all the currents of lava, which had previously been designed to route it around harmlessly, were now all converging here, pouring all the lava into one mass. 

"This must be the center of the planned eruption..." Mega frowned, looking across the lava to where the complex's center was. "And I have to cross it. Figures." There were some platforms still sticking up out of the lava, but if he didn't move fast, the lava would cover them up, leaving him with no way across. But if he did cross, he'd die instantly if the eruption commenced. A perfect little trap. 

"Well, it's not like I haven't taken chances before." Mega sighed, jumping onto the first platform. A blur of motion was all he saw before a hard impact knocked him backwards towards the lava, and he was barely able to halt himself. Looking up, he saw that his assailant was a a robot on a parachute, dropping down from above. 

"Easily dealt with." Mega muttered, wasting it. "There'll be more, but now I know to expect 'em. I'm coming for you, Ripwood." 

*** 

"Hmph... my first little Para failed." Shadow Man frowned for a moment, then smiled. "Now while he's fighting the others, I'll blow him away." Smirking, he punched in the command to start the eruption. 

**YOU DO NOT HAVE PROPER CLEARANCE TO AUTHORIZE THIS FUNCTION**. The computer blared at him. The Robot Master cursed softly. 

"Proper clear... my master. He didn't trust anybody but himself. That fool. Now I can't make Vesuvius erupt, and Mega Man's..." 

"Here?" The blue robot finished as he walked in. "You're the lead Ripwood, right?" Stepping away from the computer, Shadow Man nodded. 

"Yes. My name is Shadow Man. And I would like to thank you." 

"For what?" Mega Man asked suspiciously, raising his Buster. 

"For killing Top Man. He was an idiot... a fool, with no sense of battle tactics whatsoever. His presence defiled our ranks. For killing him, I shall make your death quick and painless." 

"How very generous of you." Mega Man said wryly. "But I'm sure you know I'm not going to just sit back and let you, right?" His opponent shook his head. 

"No... not at all. Actually, I'd be rather disappointed in you if you did. I've studied your career... you are definately a worthy opponent. More so than any, save possibly my master." 

"Your master?" Mega Man asked. "Who is he, anyways? Why is he doing this?" 

"My master has not chosen to grace me with that information. As such, I do not seek it. I only-" 

"You're a ninja, not a samurai." Mega cut him off. "If you thought I wouldn't know the difference, think again." 

"True. However, I still enjoy a good fight. Shall we begin?" Shadow Man jumped up and threw a large ninja star straight at Mega. Caught by surprise, the blue robot was slow in dodging and got tagged on the arm by it. Angrily, the blue robot returned fire as his adversary jumped towards him, then slid under him. Unfazed, Shadow Man turned and threw another star (which Mega Man dodged) before jumping towards him again. Mega repeated his tactic of firing before sliding, but this time, Shadow Man slid forward as well when his enemy did, and they collided, Shadow Man's foot hitting Mega Man's face before the ninja jumped back, laughing. 

"Fool. You forget, you got your slide technique from me." He threw another ninja star, opening a wound across Mega's chest as he got to his feet. 

_Blast it... my buster's not doing enough damage. Time to try the Magnet Missile..._ "Perhaps you'll like this tactic better, ninja boy!" Shadow Man stood still as the Magnet Missile rushed at him... then slid under it as it turned, completely dodging it. 

"The Magnet Missile? Nice trick, Unfortunately for you, I already know how it works. And it's the only reliable secondary weapon you have. You shouldn't have come here this early... picked up a few other weapons by defeating my weaker colleagues first. Instead, you will die." He jumped forward just as Mega fired off another missile, realizing too late he couldn't slide in midair. The ninja fell back, but was still smiling. 

"You look pretty happy for somebody who's losing." Mega quipped. 

"But I'm not. I can dodge about half of your Magnet Missiles... which are only at around 50% power now. Not nearly enough to destroy me." His prediction was correct; half the missiles hit him, and half missed, until the weapons meter was empty. 

"Damn!" Mega Man moved his head aside to avoid a Shadow Blade which grazed his cheek. His opponent stood still and smirked annoyingly. 

"I was right. All you have left is your buster, and you know you can't beat me with that. Why not give up and make your death easy?" 

_No... he's wrong._ Mega thought, looking at his TWO weapons meters; the empty Manet Missile... and the chaotic Top Spin. _It's untested, unstable, unsafe... but what have I got to lose?_ He selected the weapon, and his color changed. Shadow Man's smile grew wide. 

"I don't believe it... are you actually using that fool's weapon? Amusing. Well, if that is the manner in which you wish to die, so be it!" He jumped forward, and Mega Man did the same, activating the weapon. As they collided, Mega Man's body suddenly began spinning at an extremely high rate, and Shadow Man was thrown around and slammed into the wall at an incredible velocity. The spin stopped as soon as Mega's feet touched the ground, and he checked the weapons energy, whistling softly. 

"Sheez... it only took a single line off? This thing's got a lot of uses!" 

"What... the... hell?" Shadow Man growled disbelievingly as he peeled himself off the wall. "What WAS that? It must have been luck." 

"Well, let's try it again, then." Mega offered, leaping into the air once more. Shadow Man threw a Blade and slid across the ground, feet-first. The Blade was deflected by the Top Spin, but before he hit Shadow Man, it suddenly froze. 

"What the-? Oh, no." Was all Mega could get out before Shadow Man knocked him to the ground and swept a Blade across his back. Hastily getting to his feet, Mega ran to the other side of the room. 

"Guess that's the unstable part... it poops out sometimes..." He muttered. A moment later, his eyes bugged out. "Half the energy's gone?! Christ! Wily wasn't kidding when he said this thing takes chaotic energy usage!" 

"Now you shall die!" Snarling, Shadow Man leapt across the room towards him, a Blade in hand. Mega met him in the air, firing up the Top Spin once more. This time, both of them slammed into opposite walls. Several moments later, they simultaneously moved off, turned and glared at each other. Mega Man was losing vital fluids profusely from multiple cuts and had been kicked many times. Shadow Man was severely battered from the Top Spins, his left arm hanging loosely and his right leg limping, as well as burns from both plasma bullets and Magnet Missiles. They were both on the verge of death. 

"It seems we have reached a stalemate." Shadow Man was the first to speak. Mega nodded. 

"Tell you what. I've got enough weapons energy for one more Top Spin. We jump at each other, you with a Shadow Blade, me with the Spin. Either it works or it doesn't; one of us lives, the other dies." Shadow Man frowned. 

"I despise battles of chance...but I never turn down a challenge. Very well. NOW!" The two combatants leaped forward... there was a flash of light, a spinning of metal, a thrust of a blade, and a confident smirk... and the sound of a metal spine breaking as one robot smashed into the floor while the other landed safely. The victor walked over to the loser, who smiled up at him. 

"It seems luck was not on my side... you have won my weapon, and the Crystals." Shadow Man's eyes dimmed. "I... told you... I didn't like... games of... chance..." His eyes closed. Mega Man silently took the Shadow Blade from his dead opponent's fingers and used it to slice his head open, removing the weapons chip. As he stood and turned to the room he knew held the Crystals, he smiled at the irony. Shadow Man had lost... because of the one he had deemed a worthless fool. 

"But sometimes, the fool is king." 


	8. Chapter 7: A Single Spark

**__**

Chapter 7: A Single Spark 

_"Nya ha ha... worry? Why? Those two fools failed because they were careless. Ms. Madd used a crowded street, for chrissakes, and Mr. Match was in the kid's own freaking house! My plan is perfect; the electrical power plant shall be their grave. Even if they find a way out of the trap, my Elecman Navi will be in his element. He'll be completely invincible! It's foolproof." -Count Zapp, WWW Founding Member_

"I don't believe this." Spark Man murmured. He had the tape rewind a bit and played it again, watching as Mega Man killed Shadow Man with the Top Spin, finally triumphing through seemingly pure luck. He regarded it silently for a moment before screaming and destroying it with a supershot of electricity. "This is impossible! Shadow Man was one of our most deadly, and still he fell to MEGA MAN! Will nothing stop him? What will slow his impossible might?" Angrily, he stalked around the room, kicking things. After a while, his temper cooled, and he stopped. 

"Blast it... I can't fight Mega Man! If he killed Shadow Man, I won't stand a chance! I've got to do something to..." 

YOU MUST NOT DISOBEY YOUR MASTER. His Master's Second Law flared up, and Spark Man was forced to think of something else. His Master... Spark Man smiled slowly. The Master had been very secretive, not even informing the Robot Masters of who he was. The others had been content with that, but Spark Man was more inquisitive; he was almost certain he knew the Master's identity now. Who he was... and why he was doing this. 

"Next time he calls, I'll talk with him..." Spark Man muttered to himself. After a moment, he amended the statement. "If he calls again before Mega Man comes..." 

*** 

"So, Vesuvius has subsided?" Dr. Light asked as he finished patching up Rock. Roll nodded. 

"Completely. Seems after he finished the Ripwood boss, Rock rerouted all the lava, then slagged the controls. Even if the bad guys reclaim it, they won't be making it blow for a long time." Dr. Wily grumbled a mild curse in german as he dropped the wrench he was using on Rush, then looked over. 

"With the injuries he took? Amazing... it's like Rock and Mega Man are two different people. Rock wants peace, he wants the fighting to stop, he's torn up over all this... but Mega Man just buckles down and gets the job done." 

"Like how he kicked your butt twice?" Roll snapped and instantly regretted it. Wily's face fell. 

"I suppose so..." Silence filled the room until Dr. Light cleared his throat. 

"Well, that's it for Rock's repairs." He started the robot back up. Rock opened his eyes, yawned and jumped off the table. 

"Morning, guys. That upgrade done yet?" Dr. Wily shook his head, looked up and nodded, patting Rush on the head as the dog woke up. 

"Went off without a hitch. With one of those black Energen crystals, Rush now has enough power to transform into a mini-submarine for underwater." Rock nodded, smiling. 

"Nice. Unfortunately, I probably won't need him where I'm going next... Las Vegas." 

"Uh, no, I don't think you'd use a submarine there." Roll commented. "Somehow, an abandoned metropolis doesn't strike me as the best place to find large bodies of water." 

"I didn't think so either." Rock agreed. "Hope my new Shadow Blades help out." He sighed. "Well, we're not getting any younger just standing here. I'll see you later, Doc. Come on, Rush." The robot phased into his armor, and he and his dog teleported away. 

*** 

"So, this is what the Las Vegas mine is like..." Mega Man said, looking around. He was in a completely underground setting. Anything and everything was made of metal, working, processing, producing... 

"Looks like they're putting Vegas's electricity stores to good use." Mega chuckled. "Makes sense, since they're putting Sparkplug models here." He walked ahead, then stopped. A small ladder went up against a ledge going the opposite way he had come up. "Now, if I were the enemy, I'd put a 'bot up there to hit me with when I came up." Pointing his buster upward, he fired off a Magnet Missile and smiled as it turned left. The sound of an explosion followed, and he climbed up, and from there up further to the next floor of the facility. A pair of odd robots were waiting for him; they looked like a pair of squat moving bulbs, one on the floor and one on the ceiling. They moved towards him in perfect synch. Mega frowned. 

"Those look like Gabyools." The Gabyool robots were small, highly-armored robots used as sensors. They were also notoriously difficult to destroy. Mega tried a Magnet Missile, and it did nothing; a Shadow Blade worked no better. "Wonder why they're like that..." He muttered as he switched to Top Spin. As if in response to his question, a electric barrier suddenly connected the two. "Aha! Well, scratch the Top Spin, then... I'll just have to time a jump through." Switching back to his normal buster, Mega waited for the field to shut off, then bounded through. He was greeted by a hovering robot that was deployed through a tube in the ceiling. "What is THAT?" The robot glared down at him and fired off a field of sparks in eight directions. Caught by surprise, Mega was hit by one before he destroyed the 'bot with a plasma blast. The rest of the floor was a repetition of what he had already seen; Gabyools, spark-bot, Gabyools, spark-bot. With some good timing, Mega was able to get through with minimal damage. Climbing up, he found another challenger awaiting him. 

"A 14-KIF?" The KIFs, also known as the Joes, were one of the few lines of warbots that Lighttech created. The latest, Hammer Joe 14-KIFs, were highly armoreed and attack by slinging heavy shotputs at the opponent. Their weak spot was their single eye, which they opened only to aim a shotput. As Mega watched, the eye opened and he fired several times. The Joe remained undestroyed, though, and the blue robot had to throw himself to the ground to avoid the hurtling projectile. Getting back up, he fired again, this time destroying the Joe. The next floor was a large series of pits, over which the only way was a series of small red platforms. The black arrows pointing upward that were painted on their sides indicated that any weight would activate jets on their bottoms. Glancing up, Mega saw that the ceiling was lined with deadly electrical spikes, and the pit bottoms were the same. 

"Oh, this'll be fun..." He muttered dryly as he jumped for the first. "Just as long as there aren't any enemies to try to knock me off." 

*** 

"_Just as long as there aren't any enemies to try to knock me off..."_ The recording device played for Spark Man. The orange Robot Master blinked his huge optics. 

"Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?" Opening a channel, he commanded all his ON-2s to rush to the second series of pits and platforms, just before his room. As he finished, an incoming call popped up. It was his master. 

"Spark Man, is Mega Man at your mine?" The shadowed figure asked impatiently. Spark Man nodded. 

"Yes, my master. I am worried about his progress, it seems unusually fast. And he has also destroyed three of my colleagues so far... are you certain I can stand up to him?" 

"Are you doubting me?" His master growled angrily. "You know that violates my second rule... you'll shut down." 

"No, of course not." Spark Man said hastily. "But I still express doubt... also, I do not believe you have constructed a fortress, have you?" 

"A fortress?" The master growled. "Don't be foolish. You know that I cannot do that under my present guise." 

"Yes... but it worries me nonetheless. If we are all destroyed, you will have no place to fall back on, master." 

"You will NOT be destroyed!" The master shouted at him. "Fool, my plan is perfect! Mega Man will be forced to come to you, and you shall destroy him! And with him out of the way, I can kill Wily easily!" Spark Man sighed, squinting at the screen and trying to make out all the features he could. 

"Very well... master, Mega Man is nearing the final section. You know this mine is not as well reinforced as the others... master, I ask you. Let me drop the teleport shield and evacuate. I will join one of the others, and we will double-team hi-" 

"SILENCE! I don't CARE what you think! The shadowed figure screamed, his eyes lighting up in red. "You WILL stay there, and you WILL destroy Mega Man! Is that CLEAR?!" Spark Man bowed his head in humility and decided to go for broke with his guess... it might be his only chance to do so. 

"Yes, my lord..." He looked up at the screen, seeing the master start to turn away. "As you command... master Doc Man." 

The shadowed figure halted and remained absolutely motionless, and for a moment Spark Man wondered if he had been wrong. Then he chuckled darkly and moved back, turning on a light at his computer for the first time in months. 

"Heh heh heh... I'm impressed, Spark Man. Gemini Man and Shadow Man were supposed to be the most intelligent of your lot... how did you figure it out?" The mastermind was a top-heavy robot, colored in yellow and black and blood-red. His small legs supported a large, heavy figure, his left arm was a permanent buster lacking the ability to change into a hand. His head was large, round and bald, his mouth was a twisted grin that lacked any sense of happiness and only spoke of a ravening insanity that reflected in his dancing red eyes. Spark Man gave a small smile. 

"Once I bothered to think about it, it wasn't that hard... you had access to some of Wily's technology, and Doc Man was the only one of his creations with the intelligence to pull this off." Doc Man nodded. 

"Very good job... it seems you are intelligent too, Spark Man. I believe you are powerful as well... you have a blessing none of us, even myself, even Mega Man, have... the power of charging a shot. Your only flaw is your lack of confidence. If you succeed where the others have failed, prove your courage to me and destroy Mega Man, I shall make you my second-in-command, and I shall give you the gift I alone hold... the gift of being bound by no laws of robotics." Spark Man's smile grew huge, and his eyes glowed. 

"Th... thank you, master! I shall do my best!" 

"Do more than your best... do what is neccessary. Doc Man out." Cutting the connection, the malformed robot clicked off the light, descending into darkness once more. Spark Man frowned reflectively. 

"Hmm... well, this changes everything. If he thinks I can do it, then I can... I HAVE to... what'll I say to Mega Man when he comes in? 'Here goes nothing?' No, no, too weak... how about 'My name is Spark Man. I am the commander of this facility. In the name of my master, I will destroy you?' Yes, yes, that's good! That's what I'll say before I kill him!" Grinning, Spark Man began charging his supershot... 

Far away, in an underground lair, Doc Man brooded on his past. _An insane old scientest, laughing madly... and a heartless blue robot, slaughtering without mercy.... the loss of a battle, the brink of death, surviving only through cruelty... and a plea refused, the denial of aid, abandonment due to failure... struggling to survive, performing risky self-repairs, circuitry being warped, screaming in solitude... holographic morphing, changing in identities, each one bringing solace, the madness growing worse... a thirst for revenge, a desire for death, a plan for destruction, a campaign of butchery... _

"Know this..." Doc Man whispered, eyes burning with hate. "Know that I shall wreak most bitter revenge on the both of you... Mega Man and Albert Wily, you shall pay for the wrongs done me with your lives... for I am the eternal foe, the master of illusion... I can be anybody in the world, at any time... and by the time you have found me out, it will be too late, and the flames of my hatred will have burnt you away... BURNED! BURN! BURN IN HELL, WILY! BURN IN HELL, MEGA MAN!" Once more overtaken by the insanity that stalked him, the pitiful, tortured robot known as Doc Man stumbled off once more, screaming at demons who were not really there. 

*** 

"Where ARE those doctors?" Roll grumbled. It had been several hours since Rock had taken off. As soon as he had, the two doctors had left as well, for more work on Project Gamma. Roll was left alone, save for Eddie, and while the little brown suitcase did wonders for lab organization, his conversation skills were quite obviously lacking. Growling in frustration, Roll began alphapetizing the CDs for what seemed like the millionth time. Eddie watched her, eyes wide in seeming fascination. After a few minutes of this, Roll turned to the small robot to vent her anger. 

"Do you have to watch me all the time? Why don't you go do something else, like playing in traffic?" As soon as the words had escaped her lips, Eddie turned around and waddled out the door. Roll grumpily turned back to her work. It was only after Eddie had reached the bottom of the stairs and was on his way outside that Roll realized he might have taken her suggestion literally. With a most unladylike oath that would have made Dr. Light frown disapprovingly and Dr. Wily chuckle amusedly, she raced after him. When Roll got back, there was a call coming in from the warehouse where Gamma was being built. "It's about time!" She clicked on the comm, and a weary Dr. Light appeared onscreen. 

"Hello, Roll. I'm just calling to see how-" 

"Dr. Light, what are you doing?!" She interrupted. The doctor looked very tired; his eyes had bags under them and his shoulders were dropping. "No sooner do you fix up Rock than you're gone to build that thing! You know that periods of time without rest are unsafe for humans!" 

"We know, Roll." Dr. Wily chimed in, appearing over his colleague's shoulder and looking equally weary. "But you must understand, at this point Gamma is the first priority. The skeleton was completed when we got back, and we've moved on to the most complex part; the wiring, the innards of Gamma. We don't actually have to build it all ourselves, thank every god of every religion in the world for that; our workers can construct it from our blueprints. But me and Tom DO have to go over every completed section with our own eyes to make sure it's constructed exactly like it's supposed to be. Otherwise, we run the risk of the whole thing failing." The doctor took a huge swig from the steaming cup of coffee in his right hand. Roll's frown deepened. 

"Exactly my point! The tireder you get, the worse the probability of you two making a mistake, passing something else while you're half-asleep! Then what will happen?" 

"All right, all right, Roll." Dr. Light threw up his hands. "We'll come back to catch some sleep after another hour." Before the female robot could voice more protest, the communication clicked off. Roll sighed in disgust. 

"Those two are as bad as Mega Man... and it wouldn't surprise me if Blues was the same. What IS it with the males in this family, human or robot, that drives them to such mind-numbing self-sacrificing stupitidy?" 

*** 

"Slaggin' fraggin' ding dong..." Mega Man mumbled as he dived onto solid ground moments before the small platform he had been on smashed into the spiked ceiling. "Whoever designed this needs serious preofessional help." Getting up, he walked ahead, jumping past the pair of Electric Gabyools and climbing up another ladder. As soon as he reached the top, the first thing he saw was a Pickerman Bull bearing down at his head. Yelling, the blue robot jumped up and fired off the first weapon he switched to; the Shadow Blade. Whizzing through the air, it sliced the Pickerman's head in half neatly, and the rest of the 'bot exploded. Mega whistled. 

"Quick, maneuverable and powerful. Nice. I think I like this thing." Looking up, the hero saw a large energy capsule and a large weapons capsule on a high ledge. A little aid from Rush grabbed him both, replenishing everything he had lost so far. The next floor held nothing more than a pair of Petercheys, but beyond them was what looked like the ruins of an elevator. Looking down the shaft, Mega Man discovered to his dismay that it was at least a hundred feet down. 

"Slag... I can't risk jumping that. There's got to be some safer way down..." The Top Spin was useless; the gyrating would only increase his velocity. The Magnet Missile? Briefly he entertained the notion of surfing on one like he had on his jetboard in the Second Rebellion, but he knew that wouldn't work. "I wish I still had those tools... the wall-climber would solve this. Wait... what about the Shadow Blade?" Switching to it, he produced a ninja star. "I wonder..." Experimenting, he slammed it into the floor, and smiled as it stuck deep in there. 

"Bingo." Picking it up, he produced another for his other hand, then jammed them both into the wall of the shaft below. A moment later, he was hanging from them. Pulling one out, he jammed it in lower while hanging from the second, then did the same for it. It was slow, but about ten minutes later, he reached the bottom. The path led past several garbage stackers; with practice, Mega discovered he could slide between the falling blocks if his timing was right. Once he was past them all, the blue robot descended once more to the final floor-then groaned audibly. Ahead of him, the way strongly resembled the spike-ceilinged hall he had just come across. With one major difference; now he saw Nuttons hovering. Boltons were definately waiting to crash in when he got close, and knock him off. Mega smiled grimly as he saw the door to the control center on the other side of the chasm. 

"Well, whoever's in charge here guessed wrong if he thought this was going to stop me." Making his way across, he Magnet Missiled the far-away ones and Top Spinned the closer ones. When he walked through the door, the blue robot was at 78% energy... a pretty good amount. Until he actually stepped through the door, and was immediately hit by a huge, blazing blast of electricity that knocked him onto his rear. The control chamber was oddly built... instead of being flat like the others, it had a hill-like rise in the center. On top of the rise, an orange Sparkplug model waited, glaring down at him. 

"I assume you are the lead Sparkplug?" Rock inquired angrily, getting back to his feet. Slowly, it nodded. 

"My name is Spark Man. I am the commander of this facility. In the name of my master, I will destroy you." With those friendly words, Spark Man brought the electrodes he had in place of hands together over his head, and fired off a spray of sparks in every direction. Yowling angrily, Mega Man returned fire even as he was hit. Sparky stood still, taking the shots as he kept his electrodes together. Mega frowned. 

"That strikes a bell... where have I seen-OH SHIT." Pale, he dived to the side as the massive charged shot of electricity blasted past where he had been a moment before. "This guy's got charging?!" Charging a shot was a technique Mega had only seen once before, when he had acquired the Atomic Fire from Heat Man in the Second Rebellion. It seemed Sparkplugs were capable of it as well. "I KNEW I shoulda done more research on you guys..." Now Spark Man was jumping towards him in a series of hops. Mega tried firing once more, but the jumps were too fast; most of his shots missed. 

"Dammit, this guy's too jumpy for the buster..." Mega Man dodged another spray and switched to the Magnet Missile. The projectile flew straight, turned to smash into the enemy... and bounced off harmlessly, doing no damage whatsoever. Laughing, Spark Man blasted Mega Man right in the chest with a supershot, sending the hero flying back into the wall behind him. Those things HURT; Mega was down to 39% energy. Make that 33%; as he got up, another spray hit him. _The buster's too inaccurate, the Missile's ineffective, and the Top Spin's too risky; Spark Man's heavier than Shadow Man, so it won't work nearly as well. That leaves only my newest weapon, the Shadow Blade._ Praying mentally, Mega Man turned purple and threw out a blade just as Spark Man prepared to release the supershot that would destroy the blue fool and prove that he was fit to be second-in-command to his master, Lord- 

Spark Man's scream was audible only for a second before it was drowned out in the explosion. The Shadow Blade had sliced his left arm off, and the charged electrical energy had backfired. Mega Man ran over as Spark Man collapsed, and threw two more blades, removing the electrical robot's legs. Moaning, Spark Man rolled over onto his back, eyes filled with fear. 

"N... no... I don't want to... die..." Mega bent down next to him. 

"You were brave a moment ago." 

"My master's... favor... gave me courage..." Hearing this, Mega Man grabbed him. 

"Your master! Who is he? Why is he doing this? What does he want?" Spark Man blinked, then slowly smiled. 

"...No. I shall still serve my master. If he does not wish you to know his identity, you won't learn it from me! Goodbye, Mega Man!" With a sudden movement, Spark Man smashed his sole remaining limb through his face, literally blowing his robotic brains out. Mega Man remained there, unmoving and unspeaking for several moments before prying out the weapons chip from his fallen foe's arm. A moment later, a familiar whistle was heard. 

"Very well done!" A mocking voice came from the opening door. A red and grey humanoid figure walked in. 

"Break Man!" Mega glared. "You want to fight again?" 

"No thanks." Break Man whistled his tune once more. "I'm just here to grab the Crystals. Thanks for doing the dirty work!" The red robot suddenly ran for the door on the opposite end of the room, which they both knew contained the Energen Crystals from this mine. Unfortunately for him, Mega Man had other plans; he grabbed the yellow scarf around Break Man's neck and slammed him to the floor before running past, making sure to step on his foe's face as he went. Break Man pulled himself up just in time to see Mega Man wave cheekily and teleport away with the Yellow Energen Crystals. 

The swearing that filled that room afterwards would have made his creator blush. 


	9. Chapter 8: School Of Hard Knocks

**__**

Chapter 8: School Of Hard Knocks 

__

"What makes me think I'll succeed, Serges? Simple. The reason you and Agile failed was because you were simply too fancy, got carried away with pretty tricks. When it comes to pure power, you're outmatched. But not me. I've got more brute strength than X can ever dream of. And I'm gonna squash him into a little blue stain on the floor." -X-Hunter Violen, during the Second Maverick Uprising 

"Fraggit... I'm bored." Hard Man grumbled to himself. Hard Man was a Smashbody, built to be the most durable robot Master in existence, possessing more armor and brute strength than even Lighttech's famous Heracles models. However, they were lacking in intelligence; even Hard Man, the smartest of his line, was considered a dunce by his colleagues. He was bored easily, and his hobbies were crude... and violent. 

"Let's see here... I have a Metool, a Monking, a Wanaan, a Have Sue Bee, a lot of Chibees..." He trailed off. Before him lay a grisly collection; servant robots whom he had brutally squashed into mounds of metal with his Head Press attack. Pausing, Hard Man shook his head. He had HAD a lot of humans in his collection; unfortunately, the boss had made Hard Man throw them out. All that was left was the bloodstains. Hard Man thought for a moment, surveying his collection, then snapped his fingers. "A Pickerman Bull! I don't have any of those!" Lumbering over to the comm, he ordered one to come to his room, then sat back and waited eagerly for the violent destruction he knew would come soon. 

*** 

"You three are all LUNKHEADS, you know that?" Roll muttered grouchily as she fixed up her brother. "Those two doctors work themselves into a state of exhaustion, come home and conk out, then go immediately back! And no sooner do we give you a huge repair job since you almost DIED fighting Shadow Man, then you come back looking like this!" 

"Hey, it's not my fault Spark Man had charging abilities." Rock winced as she ripped off a small patch of synthskin that was damaged beyond repair and replaced it with new synthskin. "Believe me, it wasn't any fun for me, either. Those things hurt. A lot." 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Roll said, standing up straight. "Just try to avoid getting critical damage this time, okay? Too many people have died by this Rebellion already." Rock smiled as he phased into his armor, got off the table and hugged her. 

"Was that actual concern in your voice, sis? You'll ruin your reputation!" 

"ROCK!" 

"Kidding, kidding!" He chuckled, backing off before she whacked him. "Don't worry. I don't plan on dying. Especially not against Smashbodies... dumb lugs. Well, I'm off to Chile. I'll bring you back a monkey!" He teleported off, and Roll sighed. 

"Alone again. This house is way too quiet when it's empty..." As if responding to her words, there was a temendous crash that shook the house. It came from the bathroom. A moment later, Rush ran down the suddenly flooded hall whimpering, with a furious (and soaking) Eddie in hot pursuit. Slapping her face, Roll gave chase. 

"On the other hand, sometimes quiet is nice..." 

*** 

Landing from his teleport, Mega Man surveyed the territory angrily. "Those idiots... look what they've done!" The lush jungles of Chile were all ripped away around the mine, leaving bare dirt and rock. It was a horrifying sight. "Somebody's gonna pay for all this..." The blue robot swore with his head bowed before surveying the terrain again, this time with an eye for enemy robots. A long, rough rocky plain lay in front of him leading into a cliff face. Aside from one large cave entrance on the ground, there were multiple holes in the cliff face above. "Wonder what those are for..." Mega Man began to slowly move towards the base. After a few steps, the sudden noise of a propeller filled his ears, and he looked up to see a large robotic bee holding a hive-shaped bomb overhead. Before he could fire, the bee dropped its load and zoomed off. The moment the hive touched the ground, it opened and five tiny bee missiles flew at him. 

"Ack!" Mega was able to blast three of them away, but the other two hit him, knocking off 14% of his energy. Resolving to be more watchful of the bombers, he moved on. Several more encounters taught him that it was useless to shoot the big bees; even if he destroyed them, the hives still dropped. The hives themselves were too heavily armored to destroy, but if he was prepared, the five bee missiles were easily trashed. Mega soon found himself actually humming a little tune as he walked along. He can thus be forgiven for almost failing to notice the large green grating in front of him. 

"Huh?" Braking quickly, Mega saw that the metallic green grating covered the ground all the way into the cave. He narrowed his eyes. 

"I don't trust this." Bending over, he picked up a large rock and tossed it onto the grating. About a second later, a huge bear trap lunged out, clamped on the rock and retracted. Mega shook his head. "Looks like I was right." He smiled. "Too bad for those guys I'm faster now." Jumping onto the grate, he immediately lunged into the slide maneuver, flying all the way towards the cave. Behind him, he heard repeated metallic clanks as the bear traps snapped shut behind him. Once he was inside, the robot jumped onto solid ground, the last beartrap missing him by inches. 

"Nasty little trap..." The hero grunted as he moves up the ladder. A brief altercation with a Hammer Joe later, he was on the next floor. At first, it seemed the tunnel was clear. Then he looked up at the ceiling. 

"Monkings?" The robotic monkeys that had annoyed him back in the Yosemite Treeborg Forest during Wood Man's attack in the Second Rebellion were back, it seemed. Shrugging, he blasted at the nearest one. It immediately dropped off the ceiling and leaped towards him, trying to flatten him under its weight. Mega stood his ground, firing several times, then swore and dived to the side as it continued, undestroyed. As soon as it landed, it jumped towards him again. This time the blue robot was able to frag it. The other two were dealt with similarly, and Mega Man found himself facing what looked like a long elevator shaft going up. The elevator was gone, of course, and a shoddy metal ladder was in its place. He shrugged and began climbing. After a short time, he found a man-sized alcove. Shrugging, the robot looked in. 

"Ugh... what the?" Mega groaned as he laid on the ground below. Stars were dancing in front of his eyes. Getting back up, he shook his head. For a moment, the robot saw a streak of red in the corner of his eye, but when he turned it was gone. Cudgeling his memory, he tried to figure out what had happened. He was climbing the ladder... he looked into the alcove... and a heavy metal shotput had slammed into his chest, knocking him back down off the ladder. Bingo. A sneakily placed Hammer Joe had suckered him. After making several colorful comments relating to the ancestry and habits of Smashbodys, Mega Man scaled the ladder again and blew the loser away with a flurry of Spark Shots. Behind him, though, was a gift that more than made up for it; a large energy pod that took him back up to 95% energy. The top of the ladder led to a single small room with a Monking guarding the ladder to the next floor. With a war cry, it bounded towards Mega Man... who calmly stepped to the side and listened to it fall down the shaft he had just climbed up. Smiling, the blue robot began to walk on, then stopped as he heard something else. 

"...Cursing?" Frowning, he looked back down the shaft. Nothing but the crunchy remains of the Monking. He shrugged. "So I'm hearing things. Big deal. At least it's not Ice Man's virus again." The next floor was guarded by three big, bad Pickerman Bulls, which Mega had long ago learned to deal with. More importantly, though, was what they were guarding; a precious E-Tank. The blue canisters were basicaly a portable refill of energy for his generator, and very rare. It was definately a lucky find. Next were a couple of Metools, and then he finally made it out onto the top of the cliff. 

"Ah, sunshine feels good..." Mega sighed happily. "Even if I'm surrounded by wasteland. I'm going to have to have a talk about that with whichever Robot Master's in charge here." His enjoyment of the sunshine was marred by a blow to the head that knocked him flat on his face. When he looked up, though, no enemy was in sight save a solitary bomber bee flying overhead. No, wait, there was a flash of red disappearing into the hole that led back down, to the command center. 

"I'm getting a very familiar feeling, and I don't think I like it..." The hero growled. "That can wait, though." He looked around. Almost the entire ground leading to the hole was covered in the green grating that meant beartraps, and the bomber bee overhead was waiting. To go slow and steady would doubtless mean heavy damage. Therefore... 

"BANZAI!!" Mega Man screamed as he dashed forward, running across the ground as if one of the Wilymachines was hot on his tail. He weaved around beartraps, flew under the hivebomb, and dived down the hole at the end. 

"Hey, Mega Man." Break Man whistled familiarly and looked up from the floor job he had just finished. "Just got finished sealing the room. You know the drill. But this time, I'm afraid your precious slide won't be of much use." Looking at the floor, Mega discovered to his dismay that the cycloptic red robot was right; the terrain was incrdibly rough and hilly. The Slide wouldn't work here. A thought struck him and his eyes narrowed as he began firing. 

"You've been following me for a while, haven't you? In fact, I'll bet you were the guy who bashed me in the head!" 

"Give the man a cigar." Break Man said drolly, returning fire. Neither of them were crossing the dips and bumps seperating them, staying on their respective sides. "Why should I fight my way to the end by myself when you can do it for me? As for hitting you from behind, you can call it payback for dropping a monkey on my head." Mega smiled slightly. 

"I thought that was you I heard cursing. Your pronunciation's a little off on _sbadzda_, by the way." 

"Tell you what." Break Man replied easily as he suddenly ran towards the nearest wall, rebounded off it, and soared clear across the room, firing downwards. "The next Hungarian person I meet, I'll have them correct me. Until then, I'll just enjoy blasting at you." 

"Gee, thanks." Mega Man retorted as he took a few hits and dove into a ditch to dodge the rest. Switching to Shadow Blade, he threw it backwards over his head at where he thought Break Man was, and heard a satisfying squawk. Turning orange and white, the hero jumped back out of the ditch to inspect the damage he had done. 

"Heh heh... gotcha." Break Man snickered and pointed at the Blade embedded in his trusty shield before firing at point-blank range. There was a bright flash of light, and one robot fell back. The other smirked. 

"Wrongo. I got you." Mega Man informed his opponent. "Spark Shot. Does wonders, especially when one is made of metal." He fired several more times, and Break Man writhed before raising both hands. Wary for tricks, Mega let him stand up. 

"Okay, okay, I know when I'm whupped." Break Man laughed. "As long as you have those weapons of yours, I can't beat you, even without your slide." Picking up his fallen shield, the robot glanced at Mega Man, and his single eye closed momentarily before opening again in irritation. 

"Man, do you know how annoying it is trying to wink in this thing? Adios, amigo, and make sure to whup that Smashbody. He's got it coming." He teleported out. Mega Man sighed as the floor collapsed. 

"One of these days I'm going to have to ask him how he does that through the shields..." 

*** 

"Mr. Richolds, how is the Gamma project proceeding?" Darwin Vinkus, the United Nations representative for Japan inquired. Donald Richolds flashed the cameras a million-dollar-smile before answering. 

"Quite admirably if I do say so myself, Representative Vinkus. With the help of hundreds of Lighttech workers, as well as all the Lighttech Robot Masters that still reamin in existence under their employ, the robot is being constructed at a pace one would think impossible for a machine of its size. Already the titanium skeleton is done. The wiring is proceeding at an equally fast pace." He chuckled. "But then again, these are Doctors Light and Wily we're talking about! We already knew of their genius in robotics, didn't we?" 

"Ah, yes." Vinkus concealed a sneer. "The same 'genius' that created the six robot masters who murdered hundreds in the first Robot Rebellion." 

"And also created Mega Man, who STOPPED them." Richolds retorted. "Besides, the Rebellions were started by Dr. Wily, who had been driven insane by a teleporter accident." 

"Dr. Wily..." Vinkus smirked. "We all know about that, of course. Tell me, Mr. Richolds, how do we know Dr. Wily won't do it again? In fact, how do we know that the Third Robot Rebellion which is going on right now is not being controlled by Wily behind the scenes? Isn't it rather foolish to allow a twice-convicted madman to build and control such a potentially dangerous weapon of mass destruction?" 

"Doctor Albert Wily is as sane as the day he was born, Representative Vinkus." Richolds snapped angrily. "Doctor Cedric Froid's psychological treatment has cured him completely. There is absolutely no evidence on which to base your accusations, and if you keep them up, you may be sued for slander. Me and Dr. Froid still stand by Dr. Wily." 

"Very well." Vinkus smiled unpleasantly, adjusting his spectacles. "Speaking of Dr. Froid, where is he? I believe he was invited to this little chat as well... why didn't he come?" 

"Dr. Froid is sick. He caught a bug." Richolds replied shortly. Vinkus's smile widened. 

"Oh really? Poor man. How... unfortunate that it should befall him at exactly this time. Do you think that you will be getting sick as well anytime soon, Mr. Richolds?" 

"Not at all." Richolds shot back. "I'm the picture of health." Under his breath, the politician whispered "But you're the sickest person I've ever seen." The microphones didn't pick it up, but Vinkus's ears did, turning bright red. 

"Very well. I believe we're done." The oily man grunted, walking towards the door. Richolds waved to the cameras one more time, then followed. Once they were alone in the hall, Vinkus turned, his smug demeanor gone. His piggish little eyes shot sparks. 

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing, Donald? Do you actually believe this 'Gamma' thing will help you advance your career? You'll destroy Japan!" 

"You've been watching too many giant monster movies, Darwin." Richolds said easily. 

"Don't play dumb with me, Donald." Vinkus growled. "You know as well as I do the only reason you're siding with Light, Wily and Froid is because you think it'll boost your popularity! Well, you're walking the high wire above the tiger pit, you hear me?" 

"My dear Darwin, something you must remember in life: not ALL politicians are as corrupt as you." Richolds patted Vinkus's cheek condescendingly, forcing himself not to flinch at the touch of the man's greasy skin. "Must be going now. Pressing business. I'm sure you understand." He walked towards the elevator, turning his back on the spluttering and howling representative. 

"You can't play the noble act, Richolds! I know you too well! You'll never get away with this, you hear me? Never!" 

"Sorry, old boy, don't know WHAT you're talking about!" Richolds gave his enemy a cheeky grin as the doors closed. As soon as they were shut, though, his face changed into a furious grimace. 

__

Cretinous toad... we'll see who's the big shot in a few years when I'm sitting in your chair at the United Nations! Gamma is just the ticket I need to ride to the top. After I'm there, Wily can blow up CANADA if he wants to, I don't care. As long as I'm at the top, nothing else matters. 

*** 

__

The sound of Mega Man's footsteps receding was the last thing Doc Man heard. His aural interpretation circuits cut out in a feeble attempt to feed more energy to his auto-repair systems. After a moment, his motor-control circuits cut out as well. 

Desperate, Doc Man opened a radio link to his master. 

**Father,** he begged. **Father, please. I'm dying. Rockman has breached the third ring, and I'm going to die. Help me! **

There was a long pause. Three minutes. Four. Ten. Twenty. 

Then, **You failed me. Now deal with the consequences yourself. **

Doc Man would have wept if he'd had the capacity. Instead, he lay still, quietly waiting for death and an end to the pain. 

He has abandoned me... my father has abandoned me... Doc Man realized. Mega Man is continuing towards him... they will fight... I must protect father... father abandoned me... I must protect father... father abandoned me... protect... abandoned... PROTECT... ABANDONED... 

"AAAAAIIIIIEEEEEAAAAAOOOOOUUUUU!!!!!" Doc Man tilted his head back and released a shriek of pure, primeval agony as the module inside his head that contained Wily's First Law short-circuited. His robotic brain began to shake, as connections thrashed loose and modules exploded. Through the maddening pain, one thought surfaced; this fortress would be destroyed soon. Howling, Doc Man forced his blasted body to crawl towards a secret tunnel he had constructed without anybody's knowledge, even Wily's. Crawling through it, he fought the urges of his mind to just lie down and die, and continued towards the exit. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally saw the rays of sunlight. Only a few more feet, and he would be out of the fortress... two figures blocked the path. 

One was a robot about four feet tall in blue armor. The other was an aged human with wild grey hair and mad eyes. 

"Doc Man! You will die for your crimes!" Mega Man pointed an accusing finger at the cringing robot. 

"Doc Man! You will die for your failure!" Dr. Wily shrieked. 

"DOC MAN!!!" Together, their bodies swelled to gigantic size, fangs filling their mouths and claws sprouting from their hands. The first ogre ripped Doc Man out of the ground and began squeezing... 

"AAAAARRRGGHH!!!" Doc Man jerked upward, clutching the sheets. He was in a pleasantly upholstered bed. Near him, a window was open, letting sunlight flood the room. Outside, it was a thoroughly plesant day in the forest; birds sang and small mammals hopped from branch to branch. Doc Robot glanced out, and his face contorted into a hideous snarl. 

"HOW THE #(&$ DID THAT GET OPEN?!" He quickly shifted into a holographic guise. If any humans saw him in his true form, he would have to kill them, and that was inefficient. It'd be fun, yes, but also a distraction. Mumbling additional curses, the villain got out of bed and closed the window before heading off towards his underground lair. 

_I can't allow my cover to be blown... I must keep my disguise as a human, or they'll discover me. And then I won't be able to kill Mega Man and Wily! Oops... shouldn't have thought of that. Here comes the insanity again. Let's just hope I don't try to eat the doorframe thi... thi... this... thisthisthisthisTHISTHISTHISTHIS!!! _

It was around an hour later when Doc Man's insanity faded into the recesses of his mind once more. His semirational mind reemerged, and found that his entire head was covered in peanut butter. Grimacing, he washed it off. 

"Oh, I hate that..." He muttered bitterly, clomping off towards his lair again. "This insanity of mine is yet another reason to kill them... those pair of damned souls who fight each other endlessly, not caring about anybody who gets caught in their rains of death..." The mad grin which his face was locked into grew. "Well, one of those poor innocents is back, you so-called hero and villain. And he doesn't care about your pathetic little struggle... he's going to murder both of you. I still have four excellent generals under my command, little Mega Man. One of them will kill you. And then I shall personally rip Wily's still-beating heart out, and in his last moments of existence, make him eat it." The sick robot laughed. "After all, he ripped MY heart out the day he abandoned me. Who says robots can't understand irony?" 

The laughter continued on for a long time afterward, growing steadily more maniacal, filling all the house and the tunnels beneath it with the sound. 

*** 

"So the little kid has come here at last." Hard Man growled. "Well, nice to meet you, I suppose, although you won't be around here for much longer. My name's Hard Man, and I am the commander of this facility." 

"Can't say the feeling's mutual, I'm afraid." Mega Man growled, observing his opponent. Smashbodies were big and blue, almost their entire bodies covered in armor so thick it hindered many of their movements. "And I think you'll be the one who's going to be going on a very long trip soon. After what you did to the jungles, I have no qualms whatsoever about making you pay." 

"Heh heh heh... well, isn't that cute..." Hard Man chuckled. "Little Mega Man's an eco-hero, and I'm the big, bad eco-destroyer. But it's wrong. You'll make an excellent addition to my collection." 

"Collection?" Mega snorted. "What the hell are you talking about? I didn't think a lug like you would know what that word meant. It's not monosyllabic." 

"Oh, a joker, huh?" Hard Man smiled. "I'm very proud of my collection. If you want, you can take a look at it before I add you to it. It's that door there. Yeah, the one on the left." Alert for any signs of treachery, Mega walked over and took a peek inside the door... then gagged. Inside, around on the floor, were the crumpled corpses of many robots, lying in their own fluids. The floor was stained red all over. Hard Man laughed again at his reaction. 

"Impressive, isn't it?" 

"You're sick!" Mega Man yelled, slamming the door closed. Hard Man laughed even more. 

"Oh, come on. Everybody has a hobby, right? It's a shame, though... that was only half my collection. My master made me throw out the others... said they'd rot." 

"The othe...no." Mega Man's eyes grew wide. "Humans?!" 

"You got it." 

"You're disgusting." Mega Man spat out. "I'm going to destroy you right now, and nothing you can do will stop me." 

"Oh, is that so?" Hard Man snorted, amused. "Well, you can certainly try. Here, I'll even let you have the first shot. Go ahead, choose any one of your cute little Master Weapons and have at me." 

"If you insist." Mega Man's colors changed to white and orange, and he fired off a blast of his Spark Shock. The pulse of electrical power slammed into Hard Man's broad chest... and dissipated, doing nothing whatsoever. Hard Man grinned and extended his fists. 

"My turn." The two fists suddenly detached, and rockets in the wrists fired, launching them towards the small blue hero. The first punch hit him in the stomach, making him bend over, and the second caught him on the chin, almost knocking him out. Mega Man fell to the floor. When he opened his eyes, Hard Man was nowhere to be seen. "Where...?" 

It was only his instincts that saved him. Perceiving the threat at the last moment, he slid forward, as his massive foe smashed into the ground where he had been a moment before, head first. The brute had meant to crush him flat. 

"I don't THINK so!" Mega Man yelled, throwing out a pair of Shadow Blades as Hard Man turned himself around. The blades flew straight and true... bouncing off his brutally thick armor, as ineffective as the Spark Shot. Hard Man found this quite hilarious. 

"Oh, that's rich! You can't even scratch me!" He shot off his fists (which had returned to him boomerang-style) once more. Mega was able to dodge the first, but the second hit him in the chest, knocking him back. He scrambled to his feet and dodged the next Head Press. 

_The Top Spin is out of the question. All I have left is the Magnet Missile..._ He switched to it and fired one just as his opponent righted himself and turned. _Come on, baby... come on... YES!!!_ The Missile exploded, and Hard Man screamed in pain as his chest armor broke, pieces of it flying everywhere. 

"YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU!" Berserk, Hard Man fired his hands off again. Mega Man nonchalantly hurdled them both and responded with a pair of Magnet Missiles that slammed into Hard Man's arms, slagging them. The flying fists fell to the ground, lifeless. Hard Man stared at his totaled arms for a moment before jumping into the air in one final attempt to crush the little blue robot. Mega Man just stepped to the side before firing the rest of his Missiles upwards. 

A rain of metal shrapnel covered the entire room, and the remains of the brute, arsonist and psychotic killer known as Hard Man that plunged to the ground were completely unrecognizable. 


	10. Chapter 9: Pacific Pincushion

**__**

Chapter 9: Pacific Pincushion

"Oh, this is so dull..." Needle Man grumbled to himself. "There is NOTHING left to fight around here! I've killed so many of my subordinates, it's gotten boring. I need something new! Something challenging!" He blinked as the door to his room opened. Two more Pinheads came in, restraining a third robot between them. It was, amazingly, a Lighttech Guts Man model.

"Where did you find this?" Needle Man asked greedily. The Pinhead on the left chuckled.

"A boat came near here, with a human on board. He seemed to be a reporter. This was with him."

"Yes, yes, very interesting." Needle Man said impatiently. "What did you do with the reporter?" The other Pinhead snickered.

"He's all full of holes!" At that moment, the Guts Man's eyes flashed red, and with a roar he smashed the Pinheads into each other, then flung them across the room. He turned to Needle Man.

"Are you the commander?"

"Yes, I am." Needle Man smiled as best he could without a mouth. "And you may have the honor of fighting me."

"Yer damn right I will!" The Guts Man yelled. "Yer thugs killed my pal, I kill you!" He charged, and Needle Man jumped over him easily, firing off a spray of his Needle Cannon. The Guts Man grunted in pain, but kept going to the two Pinheads he had floored earlier. Picking one up in each hand, he flung them at Needle Man, flattening him. Berserk, the Guts Man ran over and grabbed his enemy in a bear hug, ready to crush the life out of him. Needle Man laughed.

"Fool!" The Robot Master bent his head forward, and his large spiked headpiece shot out on a long coil, impaling the Guts Man. The unlucky robot emitted a single gasp before expiring. Needle Man snorted and retracted his head spikes.

"That was as pathetic as the rest! Mega Man had better get here fast..."

These days, breakfast at the Lights' was a rare occurance. The doctors usually woke up, downed a pot of coffee each, then rushed off to the old warehouse where Gamma was being built. And Rock... well, that was obvious. Thus, all three males in the house were surprised to find Roll cheerfully setting the table when they descended the staircase.

"Morning, guys!" She waved. Before they could say anything, her cheery smile changed to a frown. "No. Don't even start. Today, you two are going to have a nice, normal breakfast. And Rock, we are going to have a pleasant conversation with them." Exchanging a few glances, the men sat down at the table as Roll served the food with only a few grumbles about burnt bacon from Dr. Wily. As was his custom, the wild-haired roboticist began reading the paper. After a few moments, he began chuckling quietly.

"I should have known."

"What is it?" Rock inquired.

"The usual. I'd think you'd be used to it. Ahem... 'Mega Man saves the day! Third Robot Rebellion failing! Three locations left! Evil mastermind still undiscovered!' That sort of thing. Bleah."

"Aah, ignore it." Dr. Light advised his friend through a mouthful of toast. "We all know what's really happening. Just forget what those brain-dead newsies are pumping out."

"Yeah, yeah..." Dr. Wily flipped through the paper some more. "Ho! What's this? Seems they finally found some information on that mail bombing..." Roll frowned.

"Did they locate the mailman?" Dr. Wily shook his head grimly.

"You could say that. He's dead. Apparently, somebody nailed him between Dr. Froid's place and ours that day. Been rotting in the forest around there for a week. Yeesh. Poor guy."

"Wait." Rock frowned as he thought. "That doesn't make sense. We saw him come here!"

"Which makes whoever did this a master of disguise. A rubber mask or something." Dr. Light told his son. "People have been doing that as far back as the twentieth century. You should know... you're the one who likes watching those old shows."

"This from a die-hard Runaway Five fan!" Rock retorted. Dr. Light sputtered for a moment, then gave up and stabbed at his eggs grumpily.

"The newsies are right about one thing, though." Dr. Wily said, discarding the paper (which hit Rush on the head). "This Rebellion IS going to be over with soon. Once Rock's collected all the Energen Crystals, we'll be able to use Gamma to bring down the mastermind easily."

"Would Gamma be able to trash one of your Skull Castles?" Rock growled. Dr. Wily snorted, ignoring the gibe.

"Of course! Hell, Gamma could trash the Pentagon! When me and Tom build an ultimate robot, we build an ultimate robot! Speaking of which, we'd better get going." He carried his plate over to the sink. As Dr. Light did the same, Rock walked over to him.

"Dad, could I have a word with you before you go?"

"Of course, Rock."

"In private." The robot added, looking at Dr. Wily. After a moment, he nodded, and the two of them left the room. Roll glanced at the german roboticist's sad face.

"What's wrong?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Dr. Wily mumbled. "He still doesn't trust me. That conversation is private because he doesn't want me hearing it."

"Don't take it personally." Roll smiled at him. "That's just Mega Man talking. In his heart, Rock knows that the enemy he knew is gone now... it'll just take him a while to shake it off. Rock may be a pacifist, but Mega Man doesn't forgive easily."

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Wily frowned. "Rock and Mega Man are the same person!"

"In body, yes." Roll explained. "But in spirit, Rock and Mega Man are almost complete opposites. In fact, I'd bet that's what my brother is talking with dad about."

"I don't know when it exactly started happening." Rock told his father. "It just... happened. I didn't even notice it at first."

"So... it's some kind of split-personality thing?" Dr. Light mused. Rock shook his head.

"No. Rock and Mega Man... it's always still me. It's a change of perceptions, really. When I'm Mega Man, when I'm out fighting... I just don't care. All that matters is getting the job done. It's like I'm a completely different person." He looked at the doctor. "You said that Blues was strange... do you know if he ever went through anything like this?" Dr. Light frowned, thinking back to the time he had spent with his first advanced robot.

"No... I don't think so. He was strange... but he never had anything like this. At least not that I knew about. But then again, he was never put through any kind of war. I'm sorry, Rock... I can't help you." Rock slumped over for a moment, then put on his helmet and straightened up.

"Ahh, it's okay, doc. I'll be fine. You and Wily just finish up that Gamma thingamajob. I'm off to New Guinea."

"Rock, his name is Albert. Can't you just accept that he's not your enemy anymore?" The blue-armored robot looked his father straight in the eye.

"When he proves that he isn't my enemy here, then I will accept it. Until then, I will fight on." He teleported away. Dr. Light looked up after the warp trail for a moment, then sighed and walked away.

Mega Man had never been to New Guinea before, and he knew next to too nothing about it. Thus, he wasn't sure how long the sprawling mechanicality of the surrounding area had been in place. Nevertheless, he didn't like it. The area was teeming with buildings. Mega groaned as he surveyed the area.

"Way too close quartered for my liking... huh? No way!" The blue hero couldn't believe his eyes. Amid the buildings, there was a clear path carved out for him down the middle towards the control center. Chuckling grimly, Mega Man set off.

"This Pinhead is either very cocky or very stupid... possibly both." Still, the path wasn't exactl easy; in front of him, it teemed with Hari Harrys, hedgehog warbots that fired off rounds of armor-piercing bullet spines in every direction. Sliding under the hails of fire, Mega Man dove down to the next level instead of staying around to fight.

"Now this is more like it..." The path ahead was now a wide area with cannon emplacements. "Easy." Blasting the cannons, he slowly began making his way across, then ground to a halt about halfway across as he passed an open hangar. Inside was some sort of gigantic robot, but all he could see was the yellow dome on top. Whatever it was, it appeared to not be activated.

"Investigating this thing is tempting, but I have a job to do. So far, this hasn't been too hard. Pinheads live up to their names when planning security, it seems; this guy seems to favor brute force." Moving past another hangar, Mega Man went underground.

"Me and my biiig mouth." Mega groaned. A small tunnel that he could only fit thorugh by sliding, and at the end of it, a mechanical press working. He carefully timed his slide to get through, then repeasted it for the next tunnel. After that, the tunnel at least was tall enough to stand in, but now there were multiple Needle Presses working side by side. Try as he might, the robot wasn't able to make it through without a very nasty hit to the leg. "On the other hand, maybe there's something to be said for brute force after all..."

Dr. Cedric Froid smiled and straightened his tie as he got out of his car. The guard in front of the warehouse shot his head up from his television, then relaxed as he recognized the doctor.

"Hey, Dr. Froid! Go on in." Nodding and smiling slightly, Froid walked through the door and looked at the project in front of him with wide eyes. Hundreds, thousands of workers-human, robot master, and lesser robots such as Metools-were all laboring on a single thing. A tremendous, vaguely humanoid mass of circuitry lying on the floor. The wires ranged in size from the thickness of a treeborg trunk to thinner than a strand of string. Therough the large hole in the chest, Froid could see a shining titanium-alloy ribcage. The doctor reluctantly tore his eyes away from Gamma and looked over to where Dr. Light was poring over a mess of blueprints. Nearby, Dr. Wily was screaming through a bullhorn. Froid chuckled at the way the german robotocist was stomping his feet and pumping his fist. As Froid walked over, Wily lowered the bullhorn and shook his hand.

"Ced! Glad you could make it. Gotten over that flu?"

"Pretty much." The younger doctor smiled. "I see Gamma is coming along well."

"We're finally almost done with the circuitry." Dr. Light sighed, looking up from his plans. "The least expensive stage of building, but the most complicated. If it weren't for everybody who's helping out, we never would have been able to get this done in such a short time."

"Yeah..." Dr. Froid ran his eyes over all the workers again. "Docs, their are thousands of humans alone here! They can't all be Lighttech!"

"A lot of the surviving Sennet employees have come down to lend a hand." Dr. Wily told him. "Seems they're really eager to have Gamma kick the ass of whoever's responsible for killing their friends. Plus, we've been getting a lot of support from minor robotics firms in Japan."

"I see..." Dr. Froid chewed on his lip. Dr. Light frowned at this.

"Something wrong, Ced?"

"It's just... look, guys, this is really risky! I'm still not comfortable with something with this much power being brought into existence, you know?"

"Yes, we know." Dr. Wily reassured him. "But we feel it's a neccessary evil. The Robot Rebellions are going to keep coming, and Rock can't fight them forever. Gamma will be able to defend the world."

"Hmmmm..." Froid looked at the robot under construction. "Where's the head? And why is there a big hole in the chest?"

"The head and the core will be built seperately." Dr. Light explained. "Me and Al go over every section of wiring ourselves when it's done to make sure it's exactly as we want, but the head and core are too risky to be built by anybody except us. Besides, we can't build the core until we have all eight types of Energen Crystals."

"I see..." Dr. Froid murmured. Suddenly, he bent over, clutching at his head. Dr. Light got to his feet, concerned.

"Ced! What's wrong?"

"Just... a bad headache." The psychologist shot him a wan grin as he removed his hand. "I... should probably be going now. See you... soon."

"What do you MEAN the new superbot wasn't ready yet!" Needle Man screamed at a cringing subordinate. "Somebody kill this idiot for me." Another Pinhead promtply executed the unlucky one, and Needle Man turned to his computer, his lust for violence temporarily sated. A few minutes later, he recieved a call from the boss.

"Everything okay, Needle Man?" The dark robot known only to himself as Doc Man asked. His general saluted.

"Yes, sir! Everything is a-okay! Mega Man is en route to his death!"

"Don;t get overconfident." Doc Man reminded him. "Remember, my revenge is the ONLY priority. Nothing else matters. I must have vengeance for what has..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Needle Man cut his boss off in midrant. "Don't worry. The others were pathetic workers; it's no surprise they failed. I, however, have been a combat robot all my life, even before I was enlisted by you. He's dead."

"Yes, fighting is your strong suit, isn't it..." The psychotic robot mused to himself. "Not brains. That's why I can talk with you so freely. You don't go getting too nosy like Shadow Man or Spark Man would... if they were still alive." Needle Man bristled, raising his arms, both of which were permanent Needle Cannons.

"Are you insulting me!"

"And what will you do if I am?" Doc Man said calmly. The two robots stared at each other across their computer screens for several moments, neither blinking or breaking the other's gaze. Finally, Needle Man reluctantly tore his eyes away, and Doc Man laughed. "Exactly. You're a fighter, Needle Man, not a thinker. Never forget that. Now, go on outside and make one last check on your immediate surroundings. And when Mega Man gets here, remember... if you don't kill him, I kill YOU. Out." Turning away from the screen, Doc Man sighed and shook his head. _Needle Man had BETTER do the job right. Mega Man is proceeding farther than I ever thought possible; over half of them are dead. And that blasted Gamma is nearer completion every day. It's enough to drive a robot crazy... no, wait, I'm already crazy, thanks to my dear old dad and that blue bastard. Oh, I'm going to enjoy killing him._

"Perimeter's secured." Needle Man grunted. "Now, I... I..." The evil robot froze and slowly began to shake as he saw his bodyguard. Someone was already here! An intruder had somehow managed to sneak past all the defenses to here completely unnoticed and REPAINTED his Bikki stomper without it attacking him! The head was now a brick red, and the visor had been outlined in black. Swearing fouly in binary, Needle Man destroyed it with a head-smash and called out another... which was repainted exactly the same! Cursing even more sulferously, he discovered that every Bikki he HAD was painted that way! With an aggravated sigh, he left the second one in its place and went back insdie. High above, on some thin metal scaffolding, a robot laughed softly to himself.

"God, I love this job..." Break Man declared.

Mega Man jumped onto a platform over a pit, and the Needle Press promptly shot out and hit his good leg. "#&$! Cheap shot!" Angrily, he moved back aboveground and dispatched a lone Hari Harry. As he was about to climb higher, an instinct made him turn around and look up. There, on a ledge that he would have missed, was another precious E-Tank. He grabbed it with Rush, and continued on, dispatching a pair of Hammer Joes. Above them was the entrance to the control center, guarded by a Bikki. The spherical crushers were heavily armored robots based off Lighttech trash compacters, now used to crush foes in millitary appilcations. However, they weren't that much use; besides being very slow, the most reinforced piece of armor, an eyeshield, blocked out their vision, and had to be raised for the Bikki to see. What was NOT standard issue was the brick-red paintjob with black rimming the visor. It looked rather familiar now.

"Dammit. Break Man's been here before me." Mega cursed as he waited for the Bikki to expose its eyes. As it did, he fired off the Hard Knuckle, a jet-powered heavy explosive. Two of them were all that were needed to bring the big 'bot down.

"Speaking of brute strength..." He smiled. As he was about to open the shutter, it opened itself, and Break Man ran out, firing over his shoulder.

"You heard me! Put those needles where they belong, pal! Yeah, that's ri-oh shit, HIT THE DECK!" Both robots dove to the ground as a furious storm of needle bullets whizzed over head. The shutter closed itself, and Break Man got to his feet.

"Today's advice: Never go after a Pinhead's ego. They're REALLY touchy." Mega Man surveyed him closer and whistled. The brick-red robot was leaking fluids from holes all over his body.

"Sheeez, Break Boy! You look like swiss cheese!"

"Thanks for sharing that with me." The red robot downed an E-Tank that he pulled from behind his shield. "Well, it's obvious that I can't beat the Pinhead, and I'm in no condition to fight you. This one's yours, blue boy. See you in the next round." He limped off towards the entrance of the complex, and Mega Man went into the control center. _Pinheads are designed for warfare, so I'll want to use special weapons right off. The Top Spin's out right away, as usual, and he'll probably be too well-armored for the Spark Shock to do much, like Hard Man. Hard Man. I'll try the Hard Knuckle first; it packs more explosive kick than the Magnet Missile._

"About time you got here, shrimp." The Pinhead growled as Mega walked in. Dark blue, short and stocky, Pinheads had no real head. Their eyes were set into their chests, and they had a spiked crown on top. Both arms were permanent Needle Cannons. "Did you see a mouthy red robot run past?"

"Break Man." Mega nodded. "I think he gets his kicks by annoying people." The Pinhead shrugged.

"Well, it doesn't really matter. I'm gonna get rid of all that stress now by killing you." Mega Man raised an eyebrow.

"That's not too polite. Normally we at least have a semblance of civility before a duel."

"Fine, fine, fine. I'm Needle Man, and I already know you're Mega Man. Now die." Impatiently, Needle Man jumped into the air and began firing off Needle Bullets, Mega Man slid under them and fired off a Hard Knuckle. The heavy projectile flew straight and true... and was contemptuously kicked away before it could detonate. "Oh, please! You expect to hit me with such a slow attack? Maybe one of those other fools, but I am a combat robot! Pathetic!" More needles conveyed his disdain, and Mega Man was unable to dodge them all.

__

Damn, that hurt. So much for the Hard Knuckle. Time for the old fallback. Switching to the Magnet Missile, the hero fired off a pair. Needle Man cursed as they slammed into him.

"Bastard! I'll make you pay for that!" He leaped into the air towards Mega Man, ignoring the repeated impacts of more Magnet Missiles, then landed in front of his enemy and put his head down. Suddenly, the crown on his top shot out on a metal coil and slammed into Mega! Gasping in pain, the robot emptied the rest of his Magnet Missiles into his adversary, but it wasn't enough. Chuckling evilly, Needle Man kicked his victim off.

"Well, waddaya know. Suddenly, I'm feeling great!"

"We'll see how long that lasts..." Mega Man growled as he pulled out an E-Tank. Draining it, he smiled as he felt the energy refill, then frowned as it began seeping out through his wounds. An E-Tank gave him energy, but it couldn't repair major physical damage. For that, he needed to go back home for repairs. Which meant killing Needle Man.

"So, you're still alive? Well, I'll fix that." The evil robot snickered and shot his head out again, waiting for the thud of impact followed by the little blue robot's demise. But that never came. Mega Man had jumped the attack, and was now falling back down with something shining in his hand...

Needle Man shrieked in pain and rage as the coil connecting him to his spiked crown was severed by Mega Man's Shadow Blade. As he landed, Mega Man caught the coil and crown, and used it to bat away the storm of needles as he advanced upon the sobbing Needle Man.

"No... you can't it's not possible..." Needle Man blubbered. Mega Man's face tightened.

"Try me." Needle Man's speech was cut off as he was impaled on his own headpiece. His eyes grew wide for a second, then dimmed over in death. Shaking his head, the blue hero grabbed the weapons chip from his dead foe, collected the blue Energen Crystals, then warped out.

__

You call me a devil... but you... you are the one who doomed me to this cursed existence! Doc Man sighed and put down his copy of the ancient book, _Frankenstein_. The book intrigued him. It seemed to his shattered psyche as if the author, Mary Shelley, had somehow looked into the future. Doc Man identified to the monster of the book; like him, he had been abandoned by his father, and now lived of a life of violence, evil and death because of that act. And like the monster, he would never rest until his father was dead... Shaking his head, Doc Man rose from his reading desk and turned out the light. Much as he would like to read more, he had to go down to his basement lair and check up on his plans. As he entered the underground, the robotic maniac dispelled the hologram he always wore aboveground. As he continued down the winding passages, he ruminated. It was getting worse; his madness had always been restrained whenever he was in hologram. In a sense, he was shedding his own mind and losing himself in the personality of whoever he was imitating. That had kept the madness from touching him in hologram, and ensured his remaining undiscovered. But today, it had started to encroach on him while in hologram. His plans had to be completed soon, then, or he would be discovered, and all his effort would be wasted. His revenge... Snarling, Doc Man entered his control chamber. Now, with luck, Needle Man would have finally killed that bastard Mega Man. Shaking with hope, Doc Man turned on his moniter.

He howled in rage and frustation as he saw the dot representing New Guinea go black, smashing his fists into the keyboard.  
_What is going ON here? Mega Man is defeating them one by one! Now only Snake Man and Gemini Man are left! At this rate, he'll kill both of them too, and I'll have to resort to the desperation plan... Mega Man. It's all Mega Man's fault! Why can't he just die! He's not immortal, he's not a god! He's only a robot! A mortal, death-capable robot! By all rights one of them should have killed him! He can't win ALL the time! He WON'T stop the Rebellion! He won't! I won't let him! I won't let him... find me... no, no, stop! Don't shoot me any more! I'm already dying! Please, Mega Man, for the love of god, have mercy! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_

Shaking wildly, the robot known as Doc Man ran out of the control chamber, fleeing the horrors of his twisted mind. The doors slammed shut behind him, and the underground control center was dark once more, save for the glowing computer screen showing a map of the world with six dark dots and three light ones scattered across it.

The echoes of his howl, though, remained for quite some time.


	11. Chapter 10: Why Did It Have To Be Snakes...

**__**

Chapter 10: Why Did It Have To Be Snakes? 

"Ssssshit." Snake Man commented on the current situation as he read the scans. Six of his compatriats were dead, and it looked as if he was next on Mega Man's hit list. Why, oh why couldn't Needle Man or Shadow Man have gone just a little further and defeated the blue hero? But nooo, they had to go and get killed, leaving Snake Man to face him down! Groaning, the serpent robot pushed his papers away from him and stood up. He needed to take a break. Snake Man walked outside his control center and stopped in front of a portion of the ground where lines of chalk had been drawn. He raised his right arm, and created four Search Snakes, tiny crawling sabotage robots. At his mental command, they lined up at one end between the chalk rows. Smiling wickedly, Snake Man opened a bin nearby and took out a severed human arm that had been "donated" from a former Sennet Robotics worker, and threw it to the other end. At his signal, the Search Snakes took off, racing for the arm at the end. When one of them crossed, sinking its jaws into the arm, Snake Man immediately strolled over. 

"#3859! You won! Congratulations, my baby! Hey, 37! Camere!" A subordinate Serpos walked over, and Snake Man pointed at the race winner. "#3859 here won. Upgrade him to a Puti Snakey and integrate him with the complex." He bent over and picked up the Search Snake, crooning in its face as he gave it to the Serpos henchbot. "And if you do a reaaallly good job at that, I may even upgrade you to a Giant Snakey! Wouldn't THAT be fun? Enjoy your new life! Bye!" As the Serpos left, Snake Man turned and glared at the other three Search Snakes. "YOU I have no use for. Failures!" Snarling, he kicked them off the cliff, then went back inside. As soon as he had left, the subordinate Serpos dropped the Search Snake in its arms off the cliff as well. Shaking its head. it came to the sad realization that its masters circuitry had been scrambled when he was "changed" by the Grandmaster. Search Snakes were just mobile jaws, remote-controlled; transforming them into a robot Puti Snakey would be impossible. But it seemed his master could not grasp that. It was a bad situation, but there was no helping it. Shaking its head, the Serpos resumed its duties. 

*** 

"You are such a loser, you know that?" Was the first thing Rock heard as he came to. Standing above him was Roll, hands on her hips as she glared down at her brother. 

"What'd I do THIS time?" Rock sighed as he rose. 

"What'd you do? Oh, I don't know, maybe almost DYING fighting that Pinhead boss!" 

"His name was Needle Man." Rock remarked helpfully. Roll hit him over the head. 

"I don't care if his name was Sewing Man! He almost killed you, you idiot!" 

"I'm sorry." Rock smiled. "I'll try not to almost get killed any more when I'm infiltrating heavily-guarded complexes of murderous robots to save the world." She hit him again. 

"Now now, cut that out, you two." Dr. Wily said as he walked in. "Roll, Rock can get himself beat up without your help." 

"Thanks a lot." Rock grumbled. "How's Gamma doing?" 

"Nearly finished." Dr. Light answered, appearing in the doorway next to his friend. "We're starting on the armor today. After that's finished, all that's left is the core and the head, which we'll be designing ourselves. On that subject, Al, I'll be coming in late today." The german robotocist frowned. 

"Slacking off, Tom?" 

"No, no." Dr. Light shook his head. "If Rock brings back some extra green Energen Crystals from the African mine, I'll be able to use the additional power to integrate the old Item-2 jetboard into Rush. I have to get it ready for that." 

"Why didn't you do that with the black Crystals? Or any of the others, for that matter?" Roll asked. The bearded roboticist cleared his throat. 

"Ahem. All eight types of energen crystals are subtly different from each other; it's not just the color. That's why we need all eight to power Gamma. Only the black and green types of crystals are compatible with Rush's design, and the black aren't compatible with the Assist Items-or what's left of them." 

"I see." Rock nodded. "Well, the jetboard should be of more use than that minisub function. I haven't seen water once, not even in New Guinea!" Grinning devilishly, Dr. Wily filled a cup with water from the nearby sink and flung it into Rock's face. "HEY!" 

"All right, that's enough." Dr. Light sighed. "We all have things to do. Al, go work on Gamma. Rock, off to the African mine." Mumbling curses, Rock changed to his armor and teleported away. As Dr. Wily walked towards the door, Roll held up a hand. 

"Wait. There's something I've noticed that I need to talk to you two about." 

"Hm? What's that?" Wily frowned. 

"Sorry to be so blunt, doc, but when you were... insane... your attack sites were heavily-populated places, chosen for maximum effect." 

"Yes, we know." Dr. Light said sadly. "So?" 

"So, this time it's completely different. The mines are mostly very out-of-the-way places, particularly the one on the moon! Half of them didn't even have any human workers. Heck, this guy hasn't even made any kind of threats after they were conquered except the Vesuvius eruption! Whoever's doing this is after something completely different. It's as if the entire Rebellion was designed to lure Rock out so he could get killed in battle. But who would do that?" 

"I'm not sure." Dr. Wily frowned. "Why didn't you bring this up while he was till here?" 

"Because this is very strongly showing that you're not behind this after all, doc, and I don't think Rock's really ready for that." Roll looked down. Dr. Light nodded. 

"Sad, but true. Is that all, Roll? We really should be going." 

"Yeah, that's it." Roll nodded. "Just wanted to bring it up. Now get to work!" 

*** 

The Energen Crystal mine in Africa was almost entirely underground, in a single massive cavern. Thus, Mega Man expected to see dark stone instead of the lush greenery of the African rain forests. However, the first thought that entered Mega Man's head when he arrived at the African mine was "What the HELL?" The entire complex, as far as he could tell, was one giant mass of mechanical snakes! Even the cavern walls were covered in metallic green scales. 

"Serpos' have a decidedly odd style of interior decoration, it seems." Shaking his head, Mega Man began walking on, blowing away a few jumping 'bots that sprang towards him. Before long, one of the mechanical coils under his feet ended in a glaring head that immediatley began spitting plasma at him. A few shots wiped it out. A couple more of those later, he climbed up the ladder to the next floor. He was promptly ambushed by three snakeheads which all fired at once, knocking out a good 15% of his energy. 

"Bad move." Mega Man growled, switiching over to the brown and white colors of the new Needle Cannon. The thing had a very high fire rate, as he had found out while fighting its previous owner; a barrage wiped all three out, and he continued upward. 

"YAH!" Mega Man screamed and instinctively jumped as a plasma blast bigger than he was flew under him. The source of the shot was a snakehead the size of a minivan. As he landed, Mega began firing plasma bullets at it, but they didn't affect it much. It soon opened fire again, this time spewing three blasts. He was able to dodge two, but the third knocked off another 10% of his energy. _Great. I need to pull out another weapon? But whichh one? Think, Mega. He's big, tough..._ the blue robot grinned. _And unable to dodge._

:Have a knuckle sandwhich on me, pal!" Mega Man yelled, launching a Hard Knuckle. The dim-witted snake opened its mouth to fire once more, and the heavy explosive flew stright into its mouth before detonating. The entire head and a good portion of the neck was wiped out, clearing the way onward. The path led on, past a bizarre flying robot that dropped its own head as a bomb, and some more small snakeheads. There was also a large energy capsule which thankfully put his energy back up to full. Unfortunately, he was then assaulted by more head-droppers and some pole-vaulting humanoids at the same time, and in the confusion a lucky bomb knocked off 15% again. Grumbling, Mega moved upwards some more, destroying a pair of Hammer Joes. After the second one, the path forked with two seperate ladders leading up. Trying the one on the right led to a dead-end with some emergency storage boxes. One held a weapons capsule that refilled his Needle Cannon; the other a precious E-Tank. Mega gleefully grabbed them both before going back down and climbing the ladder on the left, which took him to another Giant Snakey. A pair of Hard Knuckles worked just as well as they had on its predecessor. Aa few vault-bots later, and he finally emerged out of the cavern into the bright blue sky of noon. As he passed by a grey tower, Mega heard several plasma shots followed by the hissing scream of a Serpos dying. Mega smirked. 

"All right, Break Man, get out here." He called. A few moments later, the red robot stepped out from behind the tower, whistling and dragging a dead Serpos. 

"Hey, you should thank me, blue-boy. This guy was planning on ambushing you." 

"Yeah, and the thought of doing the same never crossed your mind?" Mega snorted. 

"No! ...Well, not for long, at any rate." 

"Yeah, whatever." Mega shook his head. "Well, we gonna fight it out?" 

"I dunno." Break Man shrugged, firing behind him and blowing away a charging vaulter without looking. "That's gotten a bit old, hasn't it? And whichever one of us wins will be at a energy loss when facing the boss Serpos. I've got a better idea. A challenge for you." 

"Oh?" Mega asked. Break Man nodded. 

"Yup. My challenge: Fight the boss with only half of your special weapons. You win, I'll let you take the crystals without any argument. You lose... I get a weakened Serpos to fight. Well?" Mega frowned. 

"Deal. But I get to choose which three." 

"Fair enough." Break Man agreed. "Which ones?" 

"The Magnet Missile, Shadow Blade, and Needle Cannon." Mega told him. "Let's get moving." 

"If you don't me aking, why'd you choose those three?" Break Man asked as they climbed up the grey tower. Mega Man smiled as he blew away a ladder-crawling bugbot. 

"Naw, I don't mind. The Magnet Missile and Shadow Blade are two of my oldest and most effective; one of them can usually get me out of a jam. The Hard Knuckle packs a punch-ouch, sorry-but it's slow, and Serpos are supposedly good dodgers. Nobody in their right mind would pick the Top Spin; it's fritzy, only halfway working, and completely unreliable. As for the Spark Shock... well, Needle Man just gave me more trouble than Spark Man did." 

"I see." Break Man nodded as they reached the top of the tower. "Whoa! That don't look fun..." The door to the control center was embedded in a cliff wall with only a small ledge before it. Between it and them was a series of fans atop small towers that launched platforms that they would have to jump across. Flying through the air between the lifts were several nasty-looking missiles. Mega Man whistled. 

"Well, this should be interesting." 

"To say the least." Break Man grumbled. "Kid, when you've been around as long as I have, you'll learn that 'interesting' usually means 'deadly.'" He sighed. "Well, sitting around here and yawking all day won't do much. Let's get going." 

*** 

"Sorry, sorry!" Dr. Light called as he ran into the warehouse, puffing. "I know I'm even later than I thought I would be!" Dr. Wily looked up from the screen of his laptop computer and smiled. 

"It's okay, Tom. This part of the construction doesn't require nearly as much of our attention as the wiring; all we really have to do is check to make sure each piece of armor is on properly. The workers can handle the rest. Got everything you needed done?" 

"Yup. The Item-2's restored and ready to be combined with Rush once we have the green Energen Crystals." He frowned and walked over to his colleague. "Whatcha got there?" 

"You remember the eight Robot Masters I built for the Second Robot Rebellion?" Dr. Wily asked. 

"Yeah..." 

"Well, I still have the design notes back from my crazy days here. I figured maybe we could have them rebuilt as beneficial robots, liike the six Lighttech and the Sennet eight were originally meant for." Dr. Light shook his head. 

"Al, you know the UN'll never stand for it. They won't let us make any more of the Lighttech six; there's no way bringing your eight into production will pass them." Wily sighed. 

"I know. I was thinking more towards the future... years later, when everybody's forgotten about this. I know they're only robots, not as intelligent as Rock or Roll... or Blues... but I just can't stand the idea of having them exist only for bloodshed. I owe them more than that." 

"Still got that guilt?" Dr. Light asked quietly. Wily nodded. 

"Tom, I think that guilt is going to be with me as long as I live... and probably even after that." He shut diwn the laptop and stood. "But enough of the past. That armor section over there on the arm looks ready for inspection. Let's take a look, shall we?" 

"Hey, guys!" A familiar voice rang through the warehouse as Donald Richolds walked in, heading towards the doctors immediately. "Looking good! I'm no techie, but even I can tell this is one impressive piece of circuitry!" He looked around. "Pretty nice operation you've got here. Bet the newsies are giving you trouble, though." Dr. Wily rolled his eyes. 

"Oh, yes. I've got five of them trying to sneak in disguised as workers so far today. It's a hassle. You probably know about that; you're a politician." 

"You got that right." Richolds flashed a million-dollar smile. "Hey, have you ever thought of letting one or two slip past?" Both doctors frowned. 

"Why?" 

"Well, if you let one or two get some info, it might pacify the rest." Richolds tried to explain. "Like throwing meat to lions." 

"More like throwing meat to sharks. It'd just make them go crazier. Forget it, Don." 

"All right, all right." Richolds held up his hands. "Anyways, I got enough to worry about. I'm going for reelection. Anyways, I was wondering..." 

"If we'd speak up for you at a press conference or something?" Dr. Wily said sardonically. The politician smiled. 

"Yeah. After all, I helped you out. It won't have to be too much; just say that we're still good friends and give a vague Gamma report. We politicians are a gullible breed, despite common belief to the opposite. Their imaginations will do the rest. Thanks, guys!" He left. Dr. Light looked after him for a moment. 

"Sometimes I wonder if politicians are humans like the rest of us." Behind him, Dr. Wily's cell phone rang, and the german robotocist answered it." 

"Yes? What did you find? ...What?! Damn! What about... nothing at all? Double damn! Sigh... okay. I'll be over as soon as I can get away." He shut off the phone and put it away as Dr. Light walked back over. 

"What was that?" 

"Oh, nothing. Shall we get to work?" 

*** 

On the roads of Tokyo, traffic conditions could range frim slow to hazardously rushed, like anyplace else. The current day was "slow"; that is, except for the single car barrelling through at 90 MPH. As it zoomed by, it grazed another car, and the man inside stuck his head out, using some very interesting vocabulary. The speeding car ignored him. Finally, it pulled up in front of a house, and the driver ran out. Entering the house, he quickly slammed the door behind him, made sure all the windows were shut... then dropped the hologram disguising him. 

"It's getting worse..." Doc Man muttered, cradling his head in his hands. "I almost lost it back there." About ten minutes ago, he had began to lose control over his hologram and become exposed. That would mean the end of his life... and a failure of revenge. Unacceptable. Through a surge of willpower, he had forced it back into place before anybody saw him and ran for the car, pleading a sudden emergency. But there was no denying that it had been very close. Too close. From now on, he would have to make sure never to go out for more than an hour at a time. 

"I'm getting too careless..." Sighing, Doc Man moved his top-heavy form down the hall to the basement. As he walked down, he observed the furnishings with a touch of humor. Beautiful wallpaper... expensive furniture... fancy paintings... crystal chandelier... the previous owner of this house had believed in keeping up appearances. Doc Man, of course, had an entirely different meaning for that term. Human foibles were of new use to him other than an occassional laugh at how pathetic they were. It was really no surprise that a human had to be out of their mind to even think about creating him, the mighty Doc Man. And soon, that same human would lie dead at his son's feet. But what about after that? Could he really go on with his life ignoring those puny animals? 

"No way. Not even slightly possible." Doc Man decided. Far better to continue his work. With his holographic abilities, he could impersonate anybody. Say, for example, the leader of a huge cult of Middle Eastern terrorists? Who had been rumored to possess nuclear weaponry? With that, he could launch a World War IV, one that would not stop until every shred of humanity-and the stupid, spineless robot slaves that served them-were dead. With Doc Man impersonating all the world's leaders, it could be done. And then... yes, then he could eradicate the animals, and the plants, and even microscopic beings! Until the entire planet was completely devoid of any life whatsoever, once more the cold, barren ball of rock it had once been. And on it, Doc Man, the single remaining creature in the galaxy, would be able to rule every inch of the planet completely, master of all he surveyed, with not even an insect left to oppose and defy him simply by existing. What a sweet victory that would be, yes... 

"WHAT AM I DOING?!" Doc Man screamed suddenly, breaking out of the mad reverie that had held him. The insanity had trapped him again, and he hadn't even noticed... Shaking, Doc Man arrived at his underground lair. Time to sort all that out later, he decided. Right now, he had to concentrate on the task at hand. Namely, his revenge. Doc Man tried to frown, but his face was locked in an insane grin; the best he could manage was an evil glare over tightly closed lips. Things weren't looking too good on that front. There were only two Robot Masters left, and Mega Man was currently at the African mine. Plan A, the mail bomb, had failed. And it seemed Plan B, the Third Robot Rebellion, seemed destined to fail as well. Doc Man knew that he would not be able to try another Rebellion later on; his insanity was getting quickly worse, and eventually, it would betray him, resulting in his discovery-and destruction. Thus, if Snake Man failed to kill the blue brat, Doc Man would have to resort to Desperation Plan C while Mega Man went to fight Gemini Man, his last general. Or perhaps Gemini MEN would be a better term... Doc Man shook his head. Gemini confused even him, and that was hard to do. Even if he wasn't able to fell Mega Man, the general would definately hold the blue robot off long enough for Plan C to work. And then... well, he had already thought about that, hadn't he? Doc Man slowly began giggling, then chuckling, then screaming maniacal laughter. As the insane sound filled with the familiar sound of one whom sanity does no longer exist for, the robotic mastermind danced around with all the glee of a two-year-old with a lollipop, his struggle forgotten for the moment. 

*** 

"Hello, what's this?" Snake Man hissed as Mega Man and Break Man walked in together. "Mega Man. And you must be the mysterious Break Man I've heard so much about." 

"That'd be me, all right." Break Man nodded. 

"Two against one isn't exactly fair, boys." Snake Man growled. Mega smiled and shook his head as his red rival leaned against a wall. 

"Don't worry your snakey head, pal. We're fighting you one at a time. If you kill me, he gets his chance. I'll even go easy on you and only use half of my special weapons." 

"Foolish move, boy!" Snake Man laughed. "Underestimating Snake Man will be your last mistake! Go, my pretties!" Raising both hands, he created a pair of Search Snakes which immediately began crawling towards their target. Undaunted, Mega Man fired off a Magnet Missile. It flew straight out and crashed into a wall. Snake Man emitted some hissing laughter. 

"Fool! Serpos are immune to such seeking devices!" 

"Well, isn't THAT nice." Mega Man growled, switching to the Shadow Blade. Those Search Snakes were getting close; he fired off a pair at them. The first snake was hit and sliced neatly in half, but the second one dodged and launched itself at Mega, latching onto his leg with the force of a bear trap. Yelping, Mega created another Blade and sliced the body off. This would prevent any further damage, but the jaws were still attached, making it painful to move that leg. Snake Man snickered and created another pair, then launched himself at the blue robot, jaws gaping. Mega smiled and jumped over him, firing several Shadow Blades. The good news was they slammed into Snake Man's back and head; direct hits. The bad news was they didn't seem to do much damage, not penetrating the layers of metal scales. The really bad news was that the path of his jump landed him right on top of the two Search Snakes, which proceeded to attack his feet. Growling, he decapitated them both with another Shadow Blade, then threw it at Snake Man, but the damage was done: he couldn't walk. His enemy deflected the blade with his arm, which landed next to Break Man. The red robot glanced down at it for a moment, then began whistling a funeral march. 

"Shut up, you." Mega Man snapped. Snake Man laughed. 

"Don't worry, Mega Man, that fool will be next. After I kill you and allow my little babies to feast on your remains, that is. Any last words?" 

"Yeah." Mega Man looked up and smiled grimly as he changed to the brown and white colors of the Needle Cannon, satisfied at the look of surprise and horror on his reptilian enemy's face. "I'm not dead yet." Snake Man screamed and writhed as a shower of Needle Bullets fell upon him, piercing his scales through to the delicate circuitry. With a howl of rage, he flung himself forward towards Mega Man, ignoring the repeated damage being done to him. 

"You've... discovered my... weakness... but you'll never... live to... tell about it!" Snake Man choked, coughing up a glob of liquid as he pinned his enemy. Clearly, he was already dying. "We shall die together... as I self-destruct! Now, DIE!" Mega Man cringed and shut his eyes, preparing for the fiery destruction... but none came. Slowly, he opened his eyes again to see a headless stump. 

"A cowardly attack like that has no part in our bet." Break Man growled,dropping the Shadow Blade which had landed near him and kicking Snake Man's decapitated head. "You beat him. The Crystals are yours." 

"I'd really love to, but I can't walk." Mega Man chuckled. His one-eyed rival groaned. 

"Lord, do I have to do everything around here?" He picked up a box of green energen crystals from a corner and dumped them next to the inert blue hero. "Looks like there's some extras. Hope you don't mind." 

"Not at all." Mega Man smiled. "Just a sec while I grab this bum's power." Reaching up with his good arm, he pocketed the Weapons chip in Snake Man's chest. When he looked back to Break Man, the red robot had Snake Man's head tucked under one arm. 

"Think I'll keep this as a souvenier. I hope you can teleport by yourself, at least." 

"Yeah." 

"Then I'm outta here. See you on the moon!" Waving, the red robot teleported out, followed by Mega Man doing the same. 


	12. Chapter 11: I Watched The World Go To Th...

**__**

Chapter 11: I Watched The World Go To The Dark Side Of The Moon 

"I'm right here... or am I? Maybe I'm right here. Or over here. Or maybe over here. Which one is real? you don't know, do you? Well, neither will Mega Man X or Zero. Hell, even if they both come, it'll still be four on two. They'll never see the real me." Maverick agent Split Mushroom, during the Fourth Maverick Uprising, aka the Repliforce Disaster 

"Hmm." Gemini Man thought for a moment, then moved his bishop, taking Gemini Man's pawn. 

"Bad move." Gemini Man chuckled, countering with his queen to take out Gemini Man's bishop. 

"Damn!" Gemini Man swore. Gemini Man simply laughed and leaned back while Gemini Man angrily contemplated his next move.Behind Gemini Man, his computer started buzzing, signaling an incoming call. Gemini Man groaned. 

"That'll be the boss. We can finish the game after we talk with him." Gemini Man nodded in agreement, then merged with Gemini Man in a flash of light as he walked towards the comp. 

Gemini models were a Robot Master ahead of their time, Sennet Robotics' greatest triumph. They possessed both basic plasma busters and extremely powerful reflective lasers, but their real winder was the ability to temporarily create a complete duplicate of themselves using the same matter synthesizers in the weapons systems of the Robot Masters. Normally, the duplicate could only be maintained for a few seconds. However, as the lead Robot Master of the moon mine, Gemini Man had augmented himself with the white Energen Crystals, and was able to sustain his duplicate for up to an hour without recharging. 

"Gemini Man." The master growled as his face popped on screen. "Snake Man has fallen. That leaves you as the last of my Robot Masters." 

"Yes, I already know." His underling replied easily. "Gimme a break, boss. I'm on the moon, not Pluto." 

"Don't be insolent." The master snapped. "Mega Man will be coming soon, and he'll probably kill you." 

"Oh, please." GeminI Man laughed. "You're forgetting something. All of Mega Man's duels have been one-on-one. I'd bet some of them, like Shadow Man and Needle Man, even preferred it that way. Sickening. MY fight will be two against one. He won't stand a chance." 

" Nevertheless, be prepared." The master told him. "It may not be as one-sided as you think. There's some fool who calls himself Break Man running around; he can't seem to make up his mind whether he wants to kill Mega Man or help him. And he seems to be almost as good as the blue bastard. Watch for both of them." The communication cliked off, and Gemini Man sighed. 

"He's such a worrywart." Frowning, he split again. 

"Yeah, he is. Let's get back to the game. It's your turn." Gemini Man smiled. 

"Indeed it is." Gemini Man agreed as he sat down on the opposite side of the table from Gemini Man. 

After all, there wasn't much else to do on the dark side of the moon. 

*** 

"I'm going to KILL Richolds." Dr. Wily swore as he bolted the door of the Light residence against the swarm of newsies that were fighting to get in. "First he tries to get Gamma behind his political campaign, and now he tells these newsies that his 'good doctor friends' would be happy to give matching interviews with him! I HATE politicians!" 

"Be reasonable." Roll smiled. "I'm sure there are SOME nice politicians out there. Just because we've never met any is no reason to judge them all by the standards of Richolds and Vinkus. Remember old Hume? He turned out okay, didn't he?" 

"Roll, Ezriah Hume was a robotocist, not a politician. And he's DEAD." 

"Well, I meant aside from that." Roll countered lamely. From the repair table, Rock laughed. 

"Give it up, Roll. You're not gonna win this one." He realized his mistake too late as his sister rounded on him. 

"Oh, really?" Roll said coolly. "Big words coming from a guy who nearly got eaten by snakes no bigger than a shoe! I believe I distinctly asked you not to get yourself nearly killed anymore!" 

"Hey, if it wasn't for Break Man, you guys wouldn't even be seeing me. Snake Man was gonna self-destruct. Talk about a sore loser." 

"Break Man?" Dr. Light asked, confused. "Who's Break Man?" Rock frowned. 

"Oh yeah, I haven't told you guys about him, have I?" He shrugged. "Break Man is a wierd guy who's been dropping around the Energen mines. Apparently he wants those crystals too. I've fought him several times. He uses a plain plasma buster like me, and he seems pretty good with it. He's an okay guy, actually; I kinda like him. Wish he'd stop that whistling, though." 

"Whistling? ...Rock, what does he look like?" Dr. Light inquired. 

"Actually, his basic body structure was a lot like mine, but he's in brick red and grey instead." 

"Those colors..." Dr. Light said with a swift intake of breath. "Al, do you think..." 

"Was there anything unusual about his head?" Dr. Wily asked quickly. Rock nodded. 

"He's a cyclops.... one blue eye. He has a yellow scarf, too." 

"No..." Dr. Wily frowned. "He's not." 

"Not what?" Roll asked, confused. Dr. Light smiled. 

"Oh, nothing. It's just that for a moment, this Break Man sounded almost like... well, never mind. We'd best all get to work. Rock, you ready for the dark side of the moon?" 

"Yup." Rock nodded, getting into his armor. "You got that Item-2 into Rush okay?" 

"No problem at all." Dr. Light smiled. "The Rush jet is ready." 

"All right." Rock smiled. " Remember, the trip to and back from the moon will take longer than an ordinary teleport, so don't be concerned if I seem to be a few hours late. Come on, Rush. Ciao!" His fiathful dog ran over and they teleported out in a blaze of blue and red light. Roll soghed. 

"I suppose you two will be taking off again?" 

"Of course." Dr. Wily nodded apologetically. "Sorry, but we've got to finish up Gamma. We've got him armored from the waist down; now we need to work on the upper half. With our current work rate, we should get his arms and back covereed today. Then tomorrow, we can build the core and put it in his chest, then armor that up. On the next day, we'll construct the head just in time for that big presentation that idiot Richolds wrangled us into. Of course, right now the problem is getting through that crowd of newsies." 

"All taken care of." Roll smiled. "I hit the grocery store the other day, so we have a fresh supply of potatoes. Come on up to the roof with me, Eddie. You two know the drill; drive out of the garage when there's an opening." The brown suitcase beeped and followed Roll up while the doctors chuckled and walked into the garage for their departure. 

*** 

Earth's moon. A relatively small hunk of rock that orbited the planet like the planet itself orbited the sun. Human visits to the moon were very hard to do; they could only get there by rockets, and the lack of oxygen made prolonged stay impossible, even with modern technology. Robots, however, were a completely different story. With teleportation and no need for oxygen, robots could function on the moon for ages. Unfortunately, very few of them lacked the minds to appreciate the sight of seeing Earth from there. Mega Man was one of those few. 

"Whoa." Mega Man muttered as he saw the globe that he had spent the entirety of his life on. It was a lot bigger than the moon was when seen in the sky, but he could still take in its entirety without shifting his gaze. Blue water, white clouds and ice, green and brown land... and there, partially obscured by clouds, was Japan, the tiny little piece of the Earth he called home. 

"A guy could sit here for days looking at that..." Mega Man muttered, then clenched his fist. "But I have a job to do. If I don't wipe out the Robot Master here and find whoever's behind this, I don't even wanna think about what'll happen to that planet." He forced his eyes away to the mine. Unlike the other mines, here the Energen Crystals were not simply underground, but embedded in a miles-long formation of lesser crystal. Decades ago, a cache of this size could have counted for more wealth than the fortune of William Gates, the major computer systems leader of the early twenty-first century. But now, it was overlooked in favor of the Energen Crystal. 

"Well, it's pretty to look at, at least." Mega Man smiled as he walked across the shining expanse. Patrolling the skies were Nirons, robots that dived to drop flames from their single eyes, and Bomber Pepes, robotic penguins whose round white abdomens were bombs they hurled. However, they were not always intelligently placed; one Niron's flight path was so close to the ground that when it dived it smashed into the crystal it exploded. 

"Whoever's in charge here, logic ain't his strong suit." Mega Man commented as he hurdled a pit and blasted a penguin. "There's the main complex up ahea-aw, crap." The entryway to the main complex resembled one of Wily's old Skull Fortresses; a sheer face of crystal with a single entryway that looked to be guarded by hundreds of hostile robots. There was no way in hell he'd be getting through there alive. "Now what do I do?" The blue robot asked grumpily. 

"What ARE you doing, Mega Man?" Came from above as a familiar whistle was also heard. Break Man landed on his feet, then followed the blue bomber's eyes to the entrance. "Contemplating suicide, looks like. You gotta know there's no way in there." 

"Got any alternatives?" Mega Man growled angrily. Break Man nodded. 

"Actually, I do. Follow me." He led the way to what looked like a solid wall of crystal. In front of it was a large metal seal in the ground. "This leads to the waterways underneath here. Gemini Man had the abovegrounds exit sealed off in case you'd come in through it." 

"So we can't go through. Thanks for telling me that." Mega snapped. Break Man wagged his finger reprovingly. 

"Temper, temper. I never said that. I said he THINKS we can't. You should know by now that I always carry an opener." Smiling, he produced a large esplosive and affixed it to the seal, then raised his shield. "You might wanna step back." 

"Good advice." Mega Man said as he moved away. A few moments later, the seal exploded, flinging crystal shards everywhere. When the smoke was gone, the hole was open before them. 

"How'd you know about this thing, anyways?" Mega Man asked as the two robots jumped down. 

"Hacked Sennet's computers." Break Man replied proudly as they landed in a tunnel of odd stones that shone with light in different flashing colors, illuminating the tunnel. He swore as they came across an obstruction. "Damn... looks like Gemini Man's got more foresight than we thought. We've got company." 

"Where?" Mega Man frowned. "I don't see anything except those wierd globes blocking the path." 

"Exactly." Break Man growled. "Those look like standard Sennet issue to you? Try blasting one and see what happens." Mega Man shrugged and complied. The orb blew apart and a blue, floating robot that resembled a tadpole crawled out. 

"Those are eggs?" The blue bomber said, surprisingly. 

""Yup. The buggers inside are called Poles." 

"Well, no big deal." Mega told him as he shot the Pole down. "They die easy." 

"Yeah, but it'll take time to clear them all out." Break Man grumbled as he began clearing a path. Mega Man smirked. 

"For you, maybe. But you forget, I have the Needle Cannon." His colors changed to brown and white, and he sent out a flurry of needles that decimated the eggy blockage. Break Man nodded. 

"Yeah, there's that." The next couple floors were equally jammed, and the Needle Cannon worked well on them too. Eventually, they came out in a clear tunnel. However, simply because their weren't any eggs didn't mean it was enemy-clear. A huge robot resembling a giant penguin barring the way. There was a large hole in its lower stomach, and a crank on its head turned by itself. A moment later, a small bomb painted like a penguin flew out of the hole and slid across the ground towards them. 

"I'll kill those things. You wipe out the big one!" Break Man yelled. Mega nodded. 

"That crank looks like a weak point..." Mega muttered, firing at it. A dozen shots sent the apparatus flying off, and the robot halted, its eyes closing. Break Man smiled. 

"Good work." They dealt with the second one the same way, then hopped down a couple floors. The waterway glittered before them. 

"Hmm..." Break Man observed a series of tiny platforms above the water. "Looks risky, but we'll have to chance it, since we can't swim." 

"Speak for yourself." Mega smirked. "Oh, Rush!" The loyal robotic mutt teleported into the water and immediately changed into the Rush Marine. 

"Cute dog. Cuter trick." Break Man told him. "A single-seater, unfortunately. Well, you know how that song goes... I take the high road, you take the low road..." He began jumping across the platforms as Mega got into the Rush Marine and sped along. Ahead, he saw a fat blue mechanical fish with a small red dome built into the top. As it swam under Break Man, the red part was revealed to be a missile that it fired at him. The red robot was hit, almost falling off and cursing in some vile foreign language. 

"Hey, blue boy! Think you can keep those things from killing me?! That ride of yours does have weapons, right?" 

"Yeah. Sorry." Mega Man apologized, activating the plasma cannon in Rush's mouth and wiping out the fish. 

"Great." Break Man called. "I'll do my part and wipe out the dragonfly-bots up here." The pair continued on until Mega Man saw something on a small outcropping of land. 

"Hey, an E-Tank!" Smiling, he retracted the bubble dome to grab it. 

"I found one up here too." Break Man smiled. "Seems Gemini Man didn't bother actually cleaning up from when Sennet controlled the place. Mistake. Here's the ladder." Mega directed Rush to the surface and jumped out onto a platform only to find that the red robot had disappeared. "Break Man? Hm. Must have gone ahead." There was no sign of him in the next room up, just a pair of Kero Hoppers. The following room, however, held a Bikki stomper with a familiar graffiti makeover. 

"Still doing that, I see." Mega commented as he blew it away. "There's the door to the control chamber... if Break Man's in there, he'll probably need help." 

*** 

"How's this sound? Go with Gamma! Vote Richolds in 20**!" Donald Richolds said. His assistant, Ronald Dove, frowned. 

"I dunno, sir. A little simplistic." 

"My boy, sometimes simplistic is good. Let's roll with that one. I want you to get that slogan printed out over the pictures we designed be noon tomorrow. At least a thousand flyers, you got me?" 

"But sir, we don't have the picture! Gamma isn't completed yet!" Ronald protested. Richolds smirked. 

"Ronny, you'd be surprised what modern computers can do in the way of picture modification. Now get moving!" The assistant nodded and departed as Richolds leaned back in his chair, reflecting on the past month. The whole thing with the third Robot Rebellion had been a blessing; whenever a Rebellion came along, there was a major upheaval in political offices. This suited Richolds' agenda perfectly; he hadn't scored much on the last two rebellions, but this one would be the big payoff. Getting in with Wily and Light had been a stroke of genius; the greedy politician congratulated himself. Who would have guessed that what had started as simply repaying old debts would blossom into the crowning point of his career? Richolds sobered. Truthfully, there had been times when he had considered wavering from his purely political mindset. Despite himself, at times he had found himself almost liking the Lights. Honestly, could he really be certain that those times he was playing up to them, he hadn't really meant the friendly words he had spoken? Might he not have actually thought of them as more than stepping stones in his career? 

_Get a hold of yourself, Richolds_, the politician shook his head. Friendship? Ha. No such thing. That was one of the first lessons Richolds had ever learned, when the lawyer he had done his internship for (who had invited him to parties and over for dinner) heartlessly fired him over a false accusation from a sycophant bootlicker. When his money vanished, so did all the rest of his friends. No, friendship was a joke. All that mattered was yourself. And besides, he thought grimly, whatever dim feelings of comradeship the Lights might have felt towards him had vanished the moment he had asked for their help. He could see it in their eyes; the same disgusted glare. _He's a politician, you can't trust him, he's only looking out for himself._ Richolds laughed. He'd be insulted, if it weren't all true. And thus, once he had gotten into the UN with Gamma, he would cheerfully dump the Lights and forget he had ever known them. As Richolds lit a cigar, he frowned. There was still one loose end... something that was bothering him. What was it... 

Froid. The thought shattered his feeling of relaxation. There was something very wrong about that doctor. Richolds didn't know what it was, but it was definately bad news. Froid's treatment had been the major point for getting Wily out of jail. If anything happened to suggest that Froid might have been wrong, under the current mood of the UN, Wily might be tossed back in. If that happened, Gamma wouldn't be completed. And if THAT happened... Richolds growled and tossed the cigar in a nearby wastebasket, his good mood evaporating. No, Froid could not be risked. Whatever fishy behavior that scientest was up to, it was time he stopped it. Richolds knew he couldn't just brace Froid; he had to get more information. But how... he paced his office for a few minutes, heavily in thought, then stopped with a broad grin. Of course! In his youth, he had gained his first real political position when the former holder had resigned in shame due to the revealing of several documents. Documents which Richolds had acquired by sneaking into the man's office. He had used those skills time and time again in his climb; what was one more time? Chuckling, he walked outside and took the elevator down. 

"Avery, I'm going out." He told the man behind the desk as he exited through the doors. Destination: The house of Dr. Cedric Froid. 

*** 

"This cannot be..." Doc Man moaned to himself, clutching his head as he sat int he corner of his lair. "No... no, Gemini Man can't be the only one left... no, Mega Man cannot be on the verge of stopping my vengeance... no, no! I'm not losing! I'm notnotnotnot...no, insanity again..." He screamed once, echoing horribly around the lair. "Who am I? Who am I? WHO AM I?!" Suddenly, the answer came to him, and in a flash, his insanity was banished. "NO! I am DOC MAN! I am the devil incarnate, the avenging angel! The monster and the hero! Who says I can't be both? I can be anybody! I can be anybody in the world, in the blink of an eye! I am the mastermind of the Third Robot Rebellion, the slayer of Mega Man and Dr. Wily both! I will... no I must succeed! I did all this! It's all through my genius, my revenge! It's all under my control... I am as strong as I was at the start! I must play this game by my rules... I will conquer this world with my tools..." Humming more of an old song, Doc Man's eyes once again lit up with the familiar red glow. "I am THE DOC MAN!!!" Cackling, the evil robot rose and sat down in front of his computer. 

"Right, then! Mega Man is off fighting Gemini Man... which means this is a perfect time to use Emergency Plan C! See, nothing to worry about! I had planned for this all along, hadn't I? Yes! The moment of my revenge is at hand... Wily, you will pay..." His grin stretching even wider, the madbot checked his plans one last time, then fired off a shot from his plasma buster to make sure it was working properly. Nodding, he shifted into his holographic guise and left the room, his thoughts filled with the lust for revenge and death and blood, oh so much blood... 

*** 

"So you're Gemini Man." Mega Man smirked at the white-and-blue robot in front of him. "I must say, I'm not impressed." 

"Really? That's a shame." Gemini Man smirked back. "I always want to put on a good show for an audience." 

"Audience. Ha." Mega Man laughed slowly. "You think this is just some kind of game?" The Robot Master shrugged. 

"Hey, I get bored up here on the moon. Well,, let's play." Smiling, he jumped across the room, sailing over Mega Man's head. The blue hero followed him with his sight and blasted at him... only to be hit in the back by another plasma bullet. "Huh?!" Turning, he saw Gemini Man standing there, snickering. Angry, he threw a Shadow Blade at him... then stumbled as he was shot in the back once more. "What the HELL?!" He turned to see Gemini Man standing there. 

"You forget my powers, Mega Man!" Gemini Man and Gemini Man chanted in unison. "I am two, not one!" 

"Oh yeah, that..." Mega Man growled. "Well, try some of this!" He fired a Magnet Missile, but one Gemini Man blasted it out of the sky while the other fired at Mega Man again as both of them slowly advanced, snickering. "Hey! Why you... try some Spark Shot!" The Gemini Man easily jumped it while his partner fired. _Grr... if they can jump that, the Hard Knuckle'll be no use... too slow. Needle Cannon would work, but I used it all up back on those eggs, dammit... I'm in a tight spot._

"Two against one isn't exactly fair, boys." A familiar voice and whistle accompanied Break Man jumping out of a corner of the ceiling. "Give me a break, Mega Man. You haven't even tried your newest weapon?" 

"Oh yeah, the Search Snake!" Mega Man grinned. The Gemini Men growled and advanced on the newcomer. 

"Whoever you are..." 

"You'll pay for interfering!" 

"Oh please." Break Man yawned. "You two sound like badly translated anime twins. Do you really think Mega Man is the only bloke in the world with Weapons Copy?" Before three stunned sets of eyes, his red-and-grey colors changed to green-and-white of the Search Snake. He raised his buster. "Say goodnight." From the aperture, three small robotic snakes emerged and launched themselves at Gemini Man's face. He choked and writhed as they went down his throat, worming their way into his delicate machinery and... a moment later, he exploded in blue sparks, leaving no trace of his existence. The real Gemini Man screamed. 

"You... KILLED ME! I'LL KILL YOU!" Without the strain of his double on his energy, the furious Robot Master brought his main weapon into play; the Gemini Laser. The powerful beam of blue light pierced both of Break Man's arms. 

"ARGH!" The one-eyed robot howled and jumped to the other side of the room. "I'm down... think you can finish him, blue-boy?" Mega Man smiled grimly. 

"Oh, yeah." He grinned and changed his colors to the Search Snake as well. Snarling, Gemini Man fired a laser at him as well, but the hero jumped it and threw off two Search Snakes from each arm. They latched onto each of Gemini Man's appendages, pinning him to the ground. Gemini Man, however, just laughed. 

"Behind you, fool!" Without even looking, Mega Man ducked, and the laser that had reflected off the wall and ceiling past over him by mere millimeters. Straight into Gemini Man's chest. 

"Well, that's that." Mega Man sighed as he removed Gemini Man's weapons chip from his chest cavity. "Now, we have to come up with how we're going to decide who gets the Energen Crystals. Neither of us is in any shape to fight." 

"Challenge you to a game of Street Fighter 2." Break Man joked. "Me Ryu, you Ken. We'll see who can out-Hadouken the other." 

"Har, har." 

"Aw, hell with it." The red robot groaned. "You take 'em." Mega Man's eyes grew a bit wide at this. 

"Huh?! But..." 

"Look, just do it, okay?" Break Man snapped, his eye glowing. "Go on, before I change my mind!" Shrugging, Mega Man opened up a chest in the back of the room and took out the white Energen Crystals. When he looked back, Break Man was gone. So was Gemini Man's head; a discarded Shadow Blade was lying next to the corpse. Mega Man smiled. 

"How many of the weapons does he have?" He teleported out. 

*** 

"Roll! Doorbell!" Dr. Light called. 

"Yeah, yeah." His daughter called back. "I'm checking our e-mail." 

"Oh, just get it yourself, Tom." Dr. Wily suggested. "She'll be hours on there." Dr. Light nodded and walked down the stairs. Roll grumbled a few curses about doctors. 

"...Hello, what's this? From Richolds? Movie format? This better not be another request for an interview..." Frowning, she opened it. As she watched, her eyes slowly grew wider, and her mouth dropped open... 

"Dr. Froid! Good to see you!" Dr. Light smiled as he showed his guest in. "Come in, come in! Al's in the living room; we're having tea. Come join us, why don't you?" 

"Thank you..." The psychologist nodded. As Dr. Light led the way, he observed the house as if seeing it for the first time. Dr. Cedric Froid smiled. 

And for less than a second... his eyes glinted red with insanity. 


	13. Chapter 12: I Am The Doc Man

**__**

Chapter 12: I Am The Doc Man

"Hello, Dr. Wily." Cedric Froid greeted the robotocist. Wily rose to shake his hand.

"Hello, Ced. What've you been up to?"

"Oh, this and that." Froid said, still smiling. "How's Rock doing?"

"Quite well. He's on the moon right now, fighting the Gemini models." Dr. Light told him. "Once he's done there, all that remains is finding out the source of all this."

"Oh, that's no problem at all." Dr. Froid said, smiling even wider. "I know who it is."

"YOU DO!" Both doctors cried, thunderstruck. "Who is it!"

"I'd be happy to tell you." Cedric put down the clipboard he was holding. "But first, I need you to do me a favor, Al." Dr. Wily frowned.

"A favor? Ced, have you lost your mind! What could I do that's more important than knowing who's behind the Rebellion?" Froid raised his arm.

"DIE." And before the awestruck eyes of the doctors, a plasma bullet fired off from his arm, straight at Wily's chest. As it whistled through the air, it seemed for a moment as if time was standing still for Albert Wily... until a chair flew in front of him, taking the bullet. Froid hissed and turned in the direction the chair had come from just in time to be smashed over the head by the other chair, courtesy of Roll. Dr. Light stared at his grim-faced daughter.

"ROLL! What are you doing! The first law! You can't hurt him!"

"The first law only forbids me from harming humans." Roll growled, picking up another chair and throwing it as well. "Which the bad doctor there is certainly NOT. What's wrong? Do you know him?" These questions were directed at Wily, whose face had gone white as he frantically backed against the wall, pointing at Froid.

"YOU... no, impossible! Mega Man killed you!"

"WHO IS HE!" Roll screamed at him, but before she could get a response, Froid lunged and blasted her several times, screaming.

"BITCH! You'll die too, right after my father!" He turned back to the doctors, chuckling. "I suppose there's no point in keeping this up anymore..." Slowly, Dr. Cedric Froid wavered and disappeared, revealed as a hologram, and the true creature was revealed. Standing as tall as a human, the robot was top-heavy, his huge upper body held up by a narrow waist and spindly legs, with huge feet. One hand was humanoid, while the other was a permanent buster. A pair of thick cables rose from his back, and he was painted in yellow and black with blood-red trim. The bald head was most frightening; his mouth was stretched in a permanently frozen, insane grin that not even the "Joker" of DC Comics from the late 20th century could have matched. And the eyes; the eyes danced around, never fixing on one thing, with the bright red pupils burning like little flames. The robot who had posed as Dr. Cedric Froid raised his arm cannon again.

"Now then, let's try this again, shall we? Ahem. Oh, that's no problem. I know who it is." He waited expectantly for several seconds, with the silence broken only by Roll's moans. "Come on, it's your line!" The doctors said nothing. "Oh, come on, don't be such poor sports! I'm going to kill you anyways, so you might as well have a little fun before you die. Die... die... diediediedie-Wait, wait, no! Not again!" He raised his other hand, palm forward. "Can you hold on-a FLYING STRAWBERRY-second please? I need to deal-HAY WRECK SPECIAL-with this before it gets out of-CHICKEN TOFU-hand. Thanks." The obviously completely insane robot walked over to the nearest wall and calmly smashed his head completely through it with an explosion of wood. When he pulled it out, it seemed he was in control. "That's better. Now, are you going to say your line, or... oh. Oh, I get it." He laughed maniacally. "You're stalling! You're hoping Mega Man will come back if you hold me off long enough! Well, I'm afraid you're mistaken; I calculated it, and even if Mega Man defeats Gemini Man, there's no way he can do it and get back here for at least an hour! Maybe if he had help, but alone, he's got no chance. So just give it up and accept that you're dead." The doctors stayed silent. "Still not willing to do it? Fine, then. I'll do it all myself." He flickered for a moment, and another Dr. Light was standing there.

"Ahem. YOU DO! Who is it!" He changed back to his true form.

"I'd be happy to tell you. But first, I need a favor from you, Al." Another flicker, and he was Dr. Wily. "A favor? Ced, have you lost your mind! What could I do that's more important than finding out who's behind the rebellion?" He changed back to his normal form and pointed his arm cannon at Wily once more, his eyes alight with a dreadful glee.

"DI-ARGH!" He suddenly pitched forward, falling flat on his face as little Eddie slammed into his thin legs. Before he could get up, Eddie darted around to the front of him and using the launcher program Roll had made, fired a watermelon straight into the mad robot's face. It would have been funny had the situation not been so drastic. His vision was blinded momentarily by the fruit; seeing this, Dr. Light grabbed the still-panicking Dr. Wily and ran out of the room with him. Furious, the hologram robot backhanded Eddie into a wall and wiped the fruit goo out of his eyes, getting back up.

"You little worm!" Kicking the suitcase-bot for good measure, he stalked upstairs looking for the doctors. The first room he checked was the laboratory, an initial scan revealed nothing, but that closet in the back...

"Father, where aaaarrreee you?" As he opened the closet, he heard a sound behind him. The sound of somebody teleporting in. Slowly, the holographic robot turned to see Mega Man staring.

"What the hell is going-" Mega Man's yell cut off as suddenly as if he had been choked the moment his eyes met the psycho's. "YOU." They stared at each other for several seconds before the intruder howled and dashed for Dr. Wily's laptop, which he had seen out of the corner of his eye. Grabbing it, he confirmed what he had seen on it with a glance, then turned back to his hated foe, giving a mocking wave.

"Run run run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, 'cause I'm the DOC MAN!" He teleported away with a peal of insane laughter, leaving Mega Man to stare after him, unmoving.

"His name is Doc Man." Dr. Wily slowly told them. The Lights were in the lab; the doctors sat at the table, while Roll repaired Eddie. Rock paced back and forth, unable to be still for more than a moment, as Wily continured. "He was the greatest child of my insanity... a robot created to be more than a Robot Master, like Rock, Roll... and Blues. He fought with Rock after the Second Ring of my first Skull Fortress..."

"I remember that very well." Rock picked up. "He used a hologram generator to look exactly like me... at first, I feared him. But when I realized it was just a hologram, a trick... I... I went berserk." He buried his face in his hands. "I tore that copy of me limb from limb... and when he begged me to end his life, I could not, under what I thought at that time to be pity. In reality... I doomed him to torture."

"Doc Man contacted me soon afterwards." Wily began speaking again. "He requested aid... in my madness, I denied him and abandoned him. That was the last I saw of Doc Man... I had assumed he had perished with the Fortress." He sighed. "...Recently, the UN excavated the remains of my Skull Fortresses. Underneath the first was a secret, underground room not even I had knew of, with signs of use by at least one robot. I kept this a secret from you all, not wanting to tell you of it until I knew what it meant... but it seems I was in error. Doc Man must have hid there and repaired himself."

"All right, Doc." Roll spoke up. "Now, explain his current mental status. I believe even while you were insane, you put in a Law forbidding any of your robots to harm you. Quite obviously, this is no longer in effect for Doc Man." Wily steepled his hands.

"This is just a conjecture, but... it's possible that, in my insanity, I did not bind the Law as thoroughly to his core as I should have. If so, an incredibly intense mental trauma... say, being brutally beaten near-death and abandoned by your father... would shatter the Law. However, this would damage his mind incredibly; insanity, growing steadily worse as his brain deteriorated further over time. An obsession with a single idea, willing to sacrifice anything for that..."

"Revenge." Rock raised his head. "Revenge against you and me. That's all this bloody Rebellion has been for... all those deaths, just for a personal grudge against two people! He's insane, all right..."

"In that condition, he would be planning this all the years after his defeat..." Dr. Light mused. "With that holographic generator of his, he could be anybody in the world..." He frowned and looked at his daughter. "Roll. How did you know what he was?" The robot girl turned off the welding torch and got up. When she turned around, her face was grim.

"I have some... bad... news. Donald Richolds is dead." The doctors gasped, and Rock stared. Roll continued talking without pause, choking out the words nonstop as if she would not be able to continue if she stopped for even a moment. "As Doc Man came in, an e-mail came. It was from Cedric Froid's account. Curious as to why he didn't just tell us personally, I opened it. It was an audio file." She walked over to the computer and pressed a few keys. As the Lights listened, Donald Richolds' voice came from the speakers. He sounded hopeless... like a man who knows he will die soon.

"To the Lights... Rock, Roll, Tom and Al... I pray that this reaches you in time. This is Donald Richolds. I'm at Dr. Cedric Froid's manor. And by the time this reaches you... I will be dead. Murdered. I only have a few moments to send this off... my life is forfeit no matter what I do. Thus, I shall use my last time to save others. Recently, I thought something was up with Dr. Froid, so I snuck inside, looking for a secret. It was eerie... the house seemed deserted. Until I reached the basement. Down there, I found a closet. Inside... were the slaughtered bodies of the Froids. They looked to have been dead for at least a month. The Froid we knew was a robot masquerading as him, and operationg out of Froid's house. He is the mastermind of the Third Robot Rebellion. This robot is bloodthirsty and horribly insane... and he knows I am here. He will kill me soon. I beg of you, forgive what I have done... and Rock, I ask as my final request that you avenge me, and all the others who have died from this madman's work! I beg of you, do not let my death be in vain! You must destroy him! Destroy the Doc Ma-"

"There you are!" An insane screech was heard.

"Damn! He's found me! Send, send!" The frantic clicking of a mouse... a horrible scream filled with unimaginable pain... and then, silence. The Lights bowed their heads in an act of respect for the dead politician. Wily was first to raise his head.

"I must concur with Don... Doc Man must be destroyed. He cannot be allowed to live. Rock..."

"I know." The robot nodded. "I will track him down and end his insanity at last. You two, get Gamma up and running in case something like this happens again." The doctors nodded sadly and stood to leave. "Wait." They paused. Rock slowly walked over to Wily, and his eyes held no hatred or disgust or battle... but apology. "Wi-no. ...Albert. Uncle Al, I'm sorry I thought you were behind the Rebellion. Can you forgive me?" Wily looked at him for a long moment, then embraced him.

"Yes... my nephew." Roll sniffed; for a moment, she almost forgot that robots can't cry as she watched the final vestiges of the hatred disintegrate, and the two were finally, fully reunited. Neither Rock nor Wily moved for many moments; then, as one, they pulled apart and looked into each others' eyes.

"Rock." The old doctor said, tears running down his face. "Please... Doc Man is the last remnant of my insanity left on this earth. My poor, damned, insane son... your cousin. Lay him to rest, Rock. End his suffering."

"I will. I swear it." Rock promised and moved away. Rush jumped to his side, ever-faithful. "Roll, did you trace his teleport?"

"Just a moment longer..." Roll turned back to the computer screen. "Got it. Apparently, his strong point isn't originality... he's gone to where you just came from. The dark side of Earth's moon, where the white Energen Crystal mine is located."

"Right." Rock phased into his armor. "One last check... okay. I've got three E-Tanks, and seven Master Weapons... well, seven and a half if you count the Top Spin. I'm good to go."

"One more thing." Wily suddenly said, as if just realizing it now. "Rock, you said he nabbed my laptop once he saw what was on the screen?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I have bad news." Wily shook his head. "That laptop held the data on the eight Robot Masters I built for the Second Robot Rebellion. Doc Man's an emulation robot, as you recall."

"You mean..." Rock drew in his breath. Wily nodded grimly.

"With that information and the changes he's gone through, it's very likely that he'll be able to copy them right down to their weaknesses. Be prepared."

"I will." Rock sighed. "I've fought them all before... there's no way I'm losing again. Doc Man... is going down." In a streak of blue and red, the hero and his dog were gone in pursuit of the madman who had butchered hundreds for failed attempts at the lives of two. Back to the dark side of the moon.

"What happened here..." Mega Man murmured grimly. On his first trip, the path ahead had been a beautiful plain of shining crystal, broken only occasionally by a pit. Now, though, the trail of Doc Man's passage was painfully evident. The crystal plain was pitted, shattered and broken in a destructive display of rage, and there were deadly pits filled with impaling shards everywhere. The one-eyed Nirons still patrolled overhead, but they had been modified; now, the flames they dropped burned blue-hot. As he journeyed across, Mega Man carefully blew them out of the sky while watching his feet for little robotic bugs that sped at him astonoshingly fast. Try how he might, a few of the Nirons hit him, and by the time he had made it across to the other side, he was down to 70 health. For a moment, he contemplated entering the complex the proper way this time; but then something caught his eye, and he turned to see a bright neon "THIS WAY" sign pointing down into the waterway entrance Break Man had shown him.

"How ostentatious." Mega sighed, jumping down and dodging a head-bombing Potton. "Looks like he wants me to come to him..." Back in the strangely glowing caverns, he continued on, but shortly found his path blocked rather familiarly. "More Pole eggs." He sighed, changing to the Needle Cannon. "Well, then, I suppose I'd better... wait. Something's not right here." Doc Man was insane, but he wasn't stupid. He never tried the exact same trick twice, as evidenced by up above. Frowining, he turned back to the Mega Buster and began clearing a path carefully. Before long, though, the trap was revealed; a hidden spikebed. If he had just charged ahead blasting like before... Mega shuddered, then smiled. Now that he knew about the trap, he could avoid it. Turning to the Needle Cannon, he cleared a path that left the bottom layer of eggs intact, then simply walked across them and took a ladder down.

"More? Sheez..." More eggs barred the path. He cleared them away, but there didn't seem to be any trap. At least, until he got to the end and found the wall too high to jump. Or so it seemed. "This is what dogs are for." He whistled for Rush and used his Coil to hurdle the wall. Another barricade of eggs later and he found himself facing the metal shutter that always heralded a Robot Master's lair.

"This wasn't here before." Mega Man growled. "He's in there." Calmly, he checked his energy meter. The Poles had dropped enough energy pellets to fill him back up, and except for the Needle Cannon (80) all his weapons were full. He entered.

"So you came..." Doc Man said, his back to Mega Man as he walked in. "For a moment I was afraid you wouldn't. And that would be a shame, wouldn't it?"  
"Yes, it would." Mega growled. "Now, prepare yourself."

"Oh, so violent!" The madbot sneered. "Why are you so nasty all of a sudden? It's been so long since we've seen each other! We need to catch up! How's your father? Still keeping up? And your sister? As spunky as ever?"

"Dammit, stop acting like we're old friends!" Mega yelled. "We're enemies, you depraved lunatic!"

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!" Doc Man spun furiously. "After all I've done... all I've sacrificed simply to get at you... everything, all of it, was for YOU, Mega Man! The Rebellion, the deaths of the Froids, all of it! My hatred for you and Wily has filled my life for years, you little fool! And you think I don't know that we're enemies!" Doc Man would have been frothing at the mouth were he human. "Well, then, we shall fight! And you shall die, for while you fight alone, I am aided by the spirits of your past!" He raised his arms skyward in supplication. "Come forth, spirit of light! One who freezes all in time, that none can escape from, trapped for all eternity! Come forth... Flash Man!" Slowly, above Doc Man, a wavy discrepancy appeared, and formed into a grim-faced, blue-armored robot that was very familiar to Mega Man. Flash Man. _It's only Doc Man's holograms,_ the blue robot had to remind himself. _It's not really Flash Man's ghost. It's just another trick._ Slowly, the hazy Flash Man descended and merged with Doc Man, who laughed insanely. "And now, revenge at last! DIE, MEGA MAN!" Howling, he charged forward. Diving to the side, Mega Man switched to the Hard Knuckle and fired. Laughing, Doc Man emitted a flash of light, and both Mega and the Knuckle froze. Doc Man contemptuously blew it away before attacking Mega, knocking him out of it. He tried the Magnet Missile, but it was just as ineffective. _So much for resembling the form he takes... those explosions would've felled the original Flash Man. Maybe the Needle Cannon... it certainly helped me get here, and it's the fastest weapon I have!_ Tumbling away from an attempted stomping that surely would have proven fatal, the hero switched to the Needle Cannon and blasted out a salvo that completely engulfed Doc Man. Screaming, he froze time again and returned fire, but the moment a single shot hit Mega it snapped him out of it and he retaliated with far more damage in the needle barrages.

"You've discovered this form's weakness, but if you think you've beaten me you're sadly mistaken!" Doc Man froze Mega one more time, but this time instead of attacking he ran for the exit door, draining an E-Tank. "This round is yours, but the next will be your last!" Laughing insanely, he was gone.

"Might as well make the rounds..." Break Man sighed. Slowly, the red robot rose from his stasis capsule and walked out, into the halls of the dark, dismal fortress he called home. As he wandered, he found his thoughts meandering to the subject of Mega Man. "It's so strange... he's nothing at all like I was told..." Break Man mused. "He's a fighter, yes, but he's not merciless... and I could see it in his eyes... he did it all because he had to, not because he wanted to..." He frowned, not liking what that led to. "Could it be that I was not told the truth?" Break Man was not a trusting robot, but the possibility that everything he had been told about... well, everything... was a lie, an attempt to fool him into doing the wrong thing... well, that wasn't exactly a very welcome possibility. Far more plausible that his suspicions were just overanalyzing foolishness, and that his orders were correct. But whenever he went towards that line of thinking, Break Man always couldn't help but remember the blue robot's attitude towards him... wariness, yes, but alliance, comradeship... and even friendliness, at some times. Those emotions definately did not fit the glitching killer Break Man had been told Mega Man was.

"Did he really want to be friends with me...?" Break Man wondered. "Impossible. We're enemies; he always knew that..."

But did he care? A little voice asked. Break Man scowled. It was possible that the blue robot thought of him as a friend, even though they were enemies. And was that emotion so one-sided? Break Man HAD let Mega Man take the green and white energy crystals without a fight; he had even HELPED him get them.

"I must be malfunctioning." Break Man chuckled. But he finally had to admit to himself; he liked the blue robot. However, that threw all that he knew... all he had been told about the situation, about the... Robot Rebellion... into doubt. And doubt was very bad. Break Man was not a robot who liked dealing with uncertainty.

"Break Man. Robot designated second-in-command. What is your purpose here?" The complex mechanical system that guarded the Third Ring asked. With a slight jump of surprise, Break Man realized he had wandered all the way down there without even realizing it. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he ran through several responses in his mind before selecting one.

"Just passing through, HR-3." The red eye on the central part flickered.

"Acknowledged. There are no intruder reports as of now." Break Man waved nonchalantly as he turned.

"That's nice, HR-3. You carry on." The system's eye flickered again, and Break Man snickered as he left. Had HR-3 possessed the capability for emotion, it would probably be irritated. As he walked back to the control center, he continued pondering the Mega Man problem. However, as soon as he got in, the red robot noticed an incoming call on the phone. He immediately picked it up.

"Joe's Funeral Parlor!" He snickered.

"Cut that out." The voice on the other end of the line snapped. "This is important."

"I didn't know it was you!" Break Man complained. "It could have been some telemarketer or prankster calling a random number! Now then, what's so important?"

"All right..." Mega Man grumbled as he jumped a high wall with Rush's help. "Where'd the big psychopath go..." A small robot bug dropped from a hole in the ceiling. Mega blasted it and grabbed the small energy capsule it left behind, then glanced up to the hole. Another dropped, and he killed it as well, taking the Weapons Energy from it. "Convenient." A few minutes later he had completely refilled the energy and weapons losses from so far. A little bit onward led him back to the water. Once again, he took the Rush Marine. However, this time Break Man wasn't there to knock out the bombing Pottons overhead.

"I HATE those things!" Mega yelled after the third one exploded in his face. Eventually, though, the water shallowed enough for him to go on on foot. Hopping out of Rush, he slid under a barricade. Three more Pottons were waiting in an ambush, but he managed to dodge two of them. Destroying all three, he climbed up the ladder. Instead of seeing the Control Center, though, he found a long room filled with narrow ledges and tons more of those robotic bugs. Climbing up to the top level, he slowly made his way across, refilling his energy from the bugs on the way. The path led downward, to a small room with a spiked floor and thin ledges with, yep, more bugs.

"This guy's got bugs on the brain..." Mega muttered, blasting them and going down one more level... and back into the water. Another metal shutter was there. "Doc Man... and I bet I can guess who he's impersonating." He switched to the Spark Shock and walked in.

"There you are!" Doc Man greeted him. "I was afraid you had gotten lost!"

"No such luck." Mega Man told him. The villain began laughing.

"Luck! Oh, you little blue fool, I wanted you to come! You're the reason my life has been hell for the past years!"

"Shut it." Mega snapped. "I did what I had to do to save the world."

"Oh, so that's how you play it..." Doc Man said, suddenly grim. "The ends justify the means, eh? Save the world no matter what the price? If you followed that law you'd have killed my father! No, wait, he's human! But I'm not, no, I'm just a robot! And you couldn't even kill me properly! You should have known I would do this if I lived, yet you spared me out of cruelty because you thought I was too crippled to be any threat!"

"No..." Mega looked at him. "No. I spared you out of pity, not cruelty... I couldn't kill-"

"LIES!" Doc Man shrieked, his face distorted by the water. "Damnable lies now that you regret your act! You try to hide it, eh? Well, don't fool yourself! It was your cruelty that caused the Third Robot Rebellion, bastard! It's all YOUR fault! Now, I shall finally have my long-deserved vengeance!" He raised his arms skyward again. "Come forth, spirit of water! The all-encompassing flow, dragging our foe down, down, into dark watery death! Come forth... Bubble Man!" Once more, a wavering spirit appeared and sank down into Doc Man's body; a green and white scubasuit-clad robot with a snorkel. Bubble Man. Cackling, Doc Man fired off a pair of bouncing bubbles. Deceptively harmless-looking, yes, but Mega knew they were actually Bubble Lead, a miraculous substance that was nearly weightless in water but incredibly heavy on land. And that would do a great deal of damage to his systems if it got into them.

"Hope you remember your science, Doccy!" Mega taunted as he fired. "Remember, water conducts electricity!" The Spark Shots struck home. Howling, Doc Man jumped forward and shot off some harpoons. Mega jumped them, still firing Spark Shots. At the last moment, he suddenly remembered Bubble Man's trick, and looked up. "SHIT!" He fired a Shot up to propel himself downwards barely before impacting the spiked ceiling. "I see you really do go to any lengths to get your emulation correct, Doc!" He slid under Doc Man as he came back down and under the bouncing Bubble Lead. The insane robot just laughed and shot off two more bubbles. Mega stood his ground shooting more Spark Shots until they were close, then slid under. Unfortunately, Doc Man chose that moment to fire more harpoons, and they knocked him back into the Bubble Lead.

"Crap!" Mega cursed; with the gunk on him, he'd have a hard time jumping high. Which meant it was down to an endurance contest. Spark Shots and harpoons flew... and Doc Man screamed, falling back. Coughing up a blob of liquid, he cursed as he drained an E-Tank.

"DAMN you, you blue bastard! You beat me again, but the chase isn't over by any means! Catch me if you can, and meet your death!" Laughing again, he teleported away. Mega immediately tried tracing the trail, and quickly found an answer; he had gone to Las Vegas.

"Gotta follow him... but I need to get this Bubble Lead off me first." Having to clean up gave Doc Man a damnable lead, but there was no avoiding it; had he gone on land covered in Bubble Lead, the weight would crush him. Several minutes of cleaning later, he warped away as well in pursuit.

"Same old Las Vegas mine." Mega Man sighed. He was promptly bashed over the head by a falling robot. "Same old Peterchy." Wasting it, he climbed up the ladder, then smirked as he saw a robot bug climbing down towards him. "This looks like a good chance to try out my new weapon." His colors turned a wintery blue and white, and his arm cannon fired off a Gemini Beam. The laser rebounded off the narrow shaft many times on its way up, making a zigzag pattern. The bug didn't stand a chance; what's more, it dropped an energy capsule that replenished the loss from the Peterchy. "I think I like this thing." Mega murmured as he climbed out onto the next floor. "THIS is different..." The floor was once again filled with large spikepits, and round, quickly-turning wheels were the only way across. To make things worse, the electricity-shooting Elecns were still there. It would be highly dangerous to attempt that trek.

"Fortunately, I have other options." Mega realized with a smirk. "Rush!" The robotic canine jumped down and looked at his master before transforming into a jetboard. Mega jumped on and calmly flew across. On the other side, he dismissed Rush and climbed the ladder waiting there. The small room up above was a simple trap; a spiked floor and three spinning wheels forming a dangerous path to the hanging ladder. Mega shrugged. "Can't always rely on Rush." With three quick jumps, he grabbed onto the bottom rung of the ladder... and with a startled oath, fell. He barely managed to maneuver onto the last wheel again.

"Greasing the bottom rung... fighting dirty." The hero growled before jumping again, this time maneuvering for the next rung up. Fortunately, it was not greased as well. Clambering up, he found himself facing off against a Giant Springer. It fell to his buster before launching a single missile. Behind it was a narrow pipe that he could only slide through. Mega frowned. "I don't like this." Nevertheless, he slid through. And was immediately confronted by another Giant Springer. Before he could move, it launched its top portion forward and slammed him back against the wall. Angrily, he destroyed it, then slid through the next pipe. Steel shutters greeted him. "Doc Man. Well, here goes nothing..." He entered.

"Still following me, eh?" Doc Man snickered. "Good, good... it is exactly as I hoped! This chase will continue until one of us is dead! Your bloodthirsty desire for vengeance drives you on in your pursuit of me, just as mine forces me to wait for you each time... we are a pair of demons, feuding amonst ourselves, and mortals pay the price!"

"Shut up!" Mega yelled. "I'm not like you... I'm no demon! The deaths were your fault, not mine!"

"Still not ready to accept the truth..." Doc Man sighed. "Very well! Die in ignorance! Come forth, spirit of machinery! The unfightable, mechanical onslaught, grinding up inexorably anything in its path! Come forth... Metal Man!" The wavy distortion appeared once again, and formed into a robot of purple and orange, with a buzzsaw on his forehead. The hologram of Metal Man descended into Doc Man's body. The two opponents stood, glaring at each other, neither moving for several seconds.

"Well?" Doc Man growled. "Aren't you going to attack?"

"You forget, I fought all these Robot Masters before!" Mega informed his enemy. "I know all their quirks. With Metal Man, you can't move until I do!"

"Damn you!" Doc Man howled. The blue robot ignored him, deep in thought about which weapon to use.

__

If the circuit is complete, Metal Man's weakness was the Quick Boomerang. What's the closest thing I have to that? The Needle Cannon. Changing colors, he fired off a barrage... which did little damage. Laughing, Doc Man jumped up and began slinging an onslaught of Metal Blades at the hero.

"Fool! I never have the same weakness twice!"

__

Duh... should have known that, stupid. Mega mentally berated himself as he attempted to dodge as many of the Blades as possible. Avoiding them all was impossible; there were just too many. _I need to take him out quick before he hurts me too much! Think, Mega. If old weaknesses don't work, use logic. What kills Metal... _Mega slowly let his face shift into an evil grin. "Magnets." He turned on the Magnet Missile and began firing them off as fast as possible. The missiles were drawn to the Metal Blades as each emerged from Doc Man's arm cannon. Basically, explosions and metal shrapnel right in his face. After several detonations, Doc Man jumped back to the door behind him.

"Damn your hide! Come after me, if you dare!" Pulling out another E-Tank, he drained the canister and ran for it, firing one last salvo behind him as he went and laughing once again.

"Oh no, you don't...' Mega growled, dodging the Metal Blades and following in hot pursuit.

"We would like to offer all of you, each and every one, our profound thanks for your assistance on the Gamma project." Dr. Light was speaking to all the workers at the warehouse, with Dr. Wily standing next to him. "The final stage shall be completed by myself and Dr. Wily. Please, as you leave, collect your tickets to the ceremony in which Gamma shall be activated, free of charge!" A collective cheer arose from the workers as they made for the exit. Once all of them had left, Dr. Light locked the doors, then turned to his partner. "Well, let's get to work on that core!"

Several hours passed, as the doctors constructed the complex generator that relied partially upon the microfusion technology that ran the Robot Masters, but also integrated the new Energen Crystals.

"Right." Dr. Wily grunted, raising the protective goggles he was wearing. "This sector's ready for the red crystals. How are you coming along, Tom?"

"Almost done here." Light informed him over the noise generated by his acetylene welding torch. "I'll be ready for the green crystals in just a second, so bring them over as well, please."

"All right." The robotocist got up and walked over to the large safe that the Energen Crystals were kept in. Opening it, he removed the two desired packages, then closed the safe back up and brought them over before unwrapping them. "Amazing..." He sighed, looking at the glittering gems. "Such fragile beauty, yet it creates such destructive power..."

"But neccessary power." Light reminded his partner, shutting off the torch. "Gamma was constructed to be a peace-keeper, not a war-bringer. It will be for defensive purposes only."

"Yes..." Wily sighed. "I know what Gamma is for. It's just that the power it shall have... I can't help but wonder if we're going too far, crossing limits that man was never meant to break. Like nuclear weapons... Gamma will have just as much power as those bombs of armageddon, and more. Can such might really be trusted to the controls of any human being? Even ourselves? The risk is so great..." He sighed again. "But I know that Gamma will be built. And that it is needed... for stopping insane and evil robots. Like... like my wayward robotic son. Doc Man." He slumped forward. "He can't be blamed for what he is... I was the one who made him that way. In my insanity, I committed many crimes... but I think the worst was the poisoning of Doc Man's entire life. He never even had a chance for normal existence, Tom. He was doomed from the day he first opened his eyes."

"Hey, don't get depressed." Dr. Light clapped his friend on the back. "Doc Man is what he is, and that can't be changed now. You're no longer to blame for your insanity; it's gone, never to return again. You're cured. As for Doc Man... Rock's going to put him to rest, and he'll never again be a threat to anybody... including himself. Nothing more can be done for him. At least he shall no longer have to struggle through the agony of a cursed existence."

"I suppose you're right..." Dr. Wily nodded. "No use getting sunk in self-loathing now. What's done is done, and the past is the past. For now, Gamma is what we need to concentrate on. The UN's deadline is approaching fast... we've got to get this thing finished."

"That's the spirit!" Dr. Light chuckled. "Now, let's get these crystals installed!" The doctors took up their crystals and resumed their work in silence; the only witness, the silent, headless Gamma that filled nearly the entire warehouse and covered most of the rest in its shadow.

"A large energy capsule..." Mega grinned and grabbed it off the ground. "Excellent. That takes me back up to 75 health. Now, where'd he go..." He spotted a small pipe that had been broken when something too large had forced its way through. "Bingo." He slid through.

"FOOL! Enjoy your death, Mega Man!" Doc Man's voice came howling from below. Mega had emerged over a long fall, and the walls were back with spikes! Yelling, he frantically twisted and turned to avoid them. Down at the bottom of the shaft, Doc Man watched, giggling. _There's no way he can avoid all of them... he's a goner. Wait, he's turning yellow and grey... WHAT THE-_

"Let's hope it works..." Mega mumbled, and activated the Top Spin. Spinning madly, he spiraled quickly down the shaft without a single spike hitting him. Hissing, Doc Man ran down the hall. A few seconds later, Mega landed and switched back to his buster before following. "Get back here!"

"Too fast for you?" Doc Man cackled. "Well then, let me make your progress even slower!" A storm of Nuttons whizzed in from behind, attached to waiting Boltons, and moved in on Mega. By the time he had shot them all down, the evil robot had vanished ahead. Growling, he jumped past a few Electric Gabyools to the final section of the plant; the trash-cubing sector. Although some more pits had been added, all in all it wasn't much more of a challenge to bypass and enter Spark Man's old HQ.

"Caught up to me, eh?" Doc Man snickered. "Well, it's time for Round 4!"

"How many times will you do this?" Mega asked him. "You know you can't keep this up forever; those E-Tanks only restore your energy, they don't heal wounds..."

"I WILL battle forever!" The villain howled. "Until you are dust, I shall continue battling for all eternity! You cannot escape me, Mega Man! Sooner or later, I WILL triumph! Come forth, spirit of speed! Unseeable, undodgable, killing before the targets even know they're dead! Come forth... Quick Man!"

__

SHIT. Mega thought as the hologram of the slim red-and-yellow robot descended, smiling mockingly. _Quick Man was bad enough even when I had the Time Stopper... why, oh why did I give that up? Aw man, here he comes!_ Doc Man launched himself across the room towards Mega at a blindingly fast speed. The blue robot slid under, but Doc Man jumped into the air, throwing several Quick Boomerangs. Too caught up with avoiding the insane robot's stomps, Mega was unable to dodge all of them, and took a few hits. _Blast... he's too darned jumpy for me to get a good shot. What do I have that can strike an active opponent... the Gemini Beam!_ Grinning, he changed to the weapon.

"What's that?" Doc Man growled. "I've never observed you use that weapon..."  
"Try and find out!" Mega shot out the laser, which rebounded around the room in a pattern that not even Doc Man with all his speed could dodge. Angrily, he threw out more Quick Boomerangs and tried to stomp his foe again, but Mega slid away from him and fired another Beam. _The true danger is his weight... as long as I can avoid him, I've got a chance._ That's not to say the Boomerangs were harmless; as a matter of fact, before long the situation had degenerated into a simple endurance contest. In the end, though, the Gemini Beams proved more powerful than the Quick Boomerangs, and Doc Man fell. Screaming curses, he drained a fourth E-Tank and shakily got to his feet.

"Y- You haven't won y-yet, M-Mega M-Man! See if you can catch me!" Once more, he was gone in a teleport. Mega sighed and looked at his energy meter. His eyes grew wide.

"Crap, I was down to 10! That was closer than I thought..." He pulled out an E-Tank of his own. "I only have one more of these left. But Doc Man's taken four... he's gotta be slowing by now. They'll fail him soon... and I can finally put an end to this." Discarding the empty E-Tank, he traced the teleport to the New Guinea mine, and teleported away in pursuit.

And the chase continued...


	14. Chapter 13: End Of The Line

**__**

Chapter 13: End Of The Line 

__

"Revenge is a powerful factor, boss. Believe me, I know. Revenge is the only thing that brought me back, damn your resurrection crap. It was revenge that restored me from Hell. And revenge... shall be their undoing." -Insane Reploid Vile, during the Third Maverick Uprising 

"I know you're here, Doc Man." Mega Man growled, looking over the mechanical sprawl of New Guinea. "Where are you..." There was no response. Scowling, Mega looked up at the beautiful night sky; he had been chasing the mad robot so long, night had fallen. The black horizon was clear and beautiful, without a single cloud. He sighed. "On any other night, I'd be glad to just relax and enjoy this... but now, I have more important matters to attend to. Blasting a trio of Hari Harry hedgehog bots out of his way, the blue hero climbed down a ladder to the underground. The Needle Press that had once been there was now ripped out, leaving a sparking hole. Mega smiled grimly. 

"Looks like old Doccy decided those things didn't work, and took them all out." He dropped down and slid through a pipe... and another Needle Press slammed down right behind him as he emerged. "Or not. Guess he just took out some..." He groaned, looking ahead. "Or relocated them..." Ahead, where the next Needle Press constantly worked up and down, a second one rose from the floor to meet it, pressing in synch. And beyond them, Rock saw a third from the ceiling as well. He groaned again. 

"This won't be easy..." Waiting a moment for the right timing, he jumped between the pair as they seperated, then immediately slid under the third. Right over the spike pit. With an oath, the blue bomber scrambled onto the ledge ahead. "Phew... that was close..." That was when two more opposite Needle Presses came together, crushing his left hand. Screaming, he jerked the appendage out and ran away to the end of the passage. 

"DAMN that Doc Man! That layout of Presses, with the spikepit... the whole thing was planned to get me hit by that last set. Cripes..." As he was about to climb the ladder up, Mega spied a large energy capsule on a ledge. "Hello! That would help bring back some energy... but hold on. Lying out in the open... this smells." Summong Rush, he used the Coil to jump up to the ledge, but instead of landing on it, he just clung to the edge with his arms. As he had guessed, the moment he did, another Needle Press sprung out. "Nice try, Doccy." Avoiding it, Mega grabbed the capsule, then got back to the ladder and clambered up. Where there had once been a Hari Harry guarding an E-Tank on a high ledge, there was now just a Giant Springer. After totalling it, Mega looked up, frowning. Before, he had emerged into open ground again here, but now, the mechanical interior continued higher up. Shrugging, he went up the next ladder to a tuny ledge. NOW there was another E-Tank, but it was on a very far-away, small ledge. Impossible to jump to. Mega smiled. 

"Rush!" The robotic dog jumped down and transformed into the Jetboard, then ferryed Mega across to the precious resource, and afterwards to the ladder up. Finally, he emerged back into open ground. And was promptly bowled over by another Hari Harry. Wasting it, Mega discovered another metal shutter. "There you are..." He growled. "This time, no getting away." He entered. 

"Once more you chase me, and once more you find me!" Doc Man giggled as his enemy entered. "And I thought I was obsessed! You just can't rest until you've killed me dead, can you?" 

"Correct." Mega nodded. "You are a threat to the world. For the sake of innocent lives, you must be destroyed." 

"Innocent lives? Please!" Doc Man howled. "As if YOU care about innocent lives! You certainly didn't care about MINE when you butchered me back in the first Skull Fortress! No, you chase me because I survived! A kill for you that wasn't killed! You're nothing but a bloodthirsty hunter, Mega Man!" 

"And you're an insane psycho." Mega retorted, raising his Buster. "Let's finish this here and now." 

"Very well!" Doc Man screamed. "Come forth, spirit of the sky! The wind that rushes and overcomes anything in its path, leaving only chaos in its wake! Come forth... Air Man!" Doc Man raised his arms skywayrd again, and above his head, a hologram appeared... of Quick Man. 

"That's Quick Man, dumbass." Mega informed him. Doc Man lowered his arms and glared at Mega. 

"I knew that! I was testing you, is all!" The hologram changed to the wide, blue-and-yellow fan-faced robot, and Doc Man absorbed it. "Now, die!" With a familiar peal of insane laughter, he created a maelstrom of small tornadoes that began flying towards Mega Man while high winds pushed him back, keeping him away from Doc Man. 

_I hate Air Man._ Mega thought angrily as he hurdled a tornado and got smacked in the face by another. _No Wood Shield or anything remotely resembling it, so I'll have to go with a guess._ He fired off a Search Snake which was smashed against the wall by the high winds. _No good. Maybe the Hard Knuckle..._ The heavy projectile was ripped apart by a tornado. _Rats! The Needle Cannon?_ The needles were easily blown askew. _DAMMIT!_

"Face facts, Mega Man!" Doc Man grinned. "Your weapons simply can't handle this method of attack! There is no way you can win!" Shutting off the winds, he jumped across the room in an attempt to crush Mega underfoot, but the blue robot slid out of the way. Shrugging Doc Man simply resumed the storm. 

_He might be right... I'm done for if I don't figure something out quick!_ Mega thought as another tornado hit him. _I need something fast, powerful, and long-range that won't be affected by the wind... Shadow Blade's too light, plus it hasn't got the range; neither does the Top Spin, not that I'd use it anyway... that leaves me the Gemini Beam, Spark Shot, or... THE MAGNET MISSILE!_ A wide grin appeared on the hero's face as he changed colors to red, and fired off a shot. The explosive flew past the tornados and smashed into Doc Man's mug, causing him to howl. "Gotcha!" Mega began firing more, and each one struck home. Furious, the villain shut off the wind and jumped across the room again, but this simply made him even more vulnerable. The last one, however, he actually grabbed out of the air and threw back at Mega, blowing the hero back and stopping the Missiles for a moment. Doc Man pulled out another E-Tank and drained it, then turned to the exit, twitching noticibly. 

"Crap! Crap crap crap crap crap!" Still swearing, he dashed away, with Mega Man following behind. 

*** 

"Why am I doing this?" Roll asked herself grumpily as she went through the paperwork for the presentation of Gamma. "Any one of the Lighttech workers would be happy to take care of this, so what am I doing going through it all?" She glared down at Eddie, who was standing next to her foot. "Well?" 

"Beep. Beep. Beep." Eddie looked up at her and blinked a few times before attempting to balance on one leg. 

"Crap..." Roll growled as she picked the suitcase robot up. "Still got a few bugs in you from that kicking, Ed..." She thumped him on the head a few times until Eddie had ceased his attempts, then set him back down. "Better. Now, where was I? Oh yes, wondering why I was doing this." She sighed; deep down inside, Roll knew the reason she was wading through all the paperwork personally; because she needed to help out somehow, and there wasn't anything else. Back in the First Robot Rebellion, she had wanted to don a blue suit and buster, and help Mega out; unfortunately, the suit meant for her had been stolen by the enemy. After that, seeing what the battles did to Rock pretty much killed what desire she had had to get involved in the actual fighting. 

"But I still feel guilty about making him go out there alone..." Roll mumbled. "Enough reflection, Roll. Back to work." She looked back down at the paper, which had the listings for the front-row seats. Aside from several UN members (including Vinkus, unfortunately), there were people who had been involved in the project a great deal, like Mr. X, as well as some others like Dr. Corbun, the former head of Sennet Robotics for the past several years. Unfortunately his predecessor, Dr. Sergei Cossack, was not able to make it. Sadly, Roll crossed out the spots for Froid & Richolds; they wouldn't be needing them now, thanks to Doc Man. As her eyes fell upon her own name and Rock's, the female robot's mind wandered again. 

"I wonder how Rock's doing fighting that psycho..." Roll frowned. Doc Man's desperate, failed attempt on Wily's life had answered all the questions about the Rebellion. But... "Something still just doesn't fit..." She didn't know what it was, but Roll had a feeling that there was still one piece of the puzzle that was out of place. And that feeling unsettled her. 

"I can figure this out after I get all this crap out of the way." Roll reprimended herself. "Back to work." Bending back over the desk, she began making adjustments to the plans with her pen, and was soon lost in her work once more. Down on the floor, Eddie stared up at her for a few minutes before walking out of the room and falling down the stairs. With a very unladylike oath, Roll jumped up and ran down after him. 

*** 

"Here, take this!" Doc Man laughed as he threw a large energy capsule onto the ground behind him. "It won't do you any good! This is where the chase ends for you, Mega Man!" Laughing, he pointed ahead to where a massive chasm yawned across New Guinea for almost a mile. A parachuting robot dropped down, and Doc Man crushed it, taking its gliding device and jumping out into the void. As Mega watched, stunned, the maniac used the Air Shooter on the underside of the parachute, and it raised him back up. As he made his way across in that fashion, Mega Man frowned and picked up the energy capsule to refill his drained energy meter. As he did, a familiar sound filled the air. Mega chuckled and looked up. 

"I figured it was about time you showed up again, Break Man." 

"You know me too well." The red robot jumped down from overhead and landed next to the hero. "It's been a while." He looked over across the chasm, to where Doc Man was clambering up a ladder. "You chasing that guy, I take it." 

"Yeah." Mega Man said grimly. "I've got to stop him... make sure he can't kill anybody else." 

"Sounds good to me." Break Man nodded. "Wish I could help you out." 

"Why can't you?" Mega Man challenged. His rival gave him a "are-you-stupid" look. 

"That dog-jet of yours only seats one, last time I checked; I don't have any way across that chasm." He suddenly looked up. "Wait, nevermind. Think you can get one of those things down here?" He pointed to where several dragonfly-bots where flying around overhead. Rock blinked, then nodded and called Rush, who transformed into the jetboard. They flew a bit up, and one of the enemies zoomed down to their level. Break Man jumped up and grabbed it, wrestling it to the ground and climbing on top. "Okay, let's go." 

"So, why are you here?" Rock asked as they flew across on their respective rides, dodging more parachuters and dragonflies. "The Energen Crystals are all taken." 

"So?" Break Man shot back. "I don't believe you ever found out why I want them, did you? You don't know squat about my motives, kid. Let's just say you're not the only one who wants Mr. Psycho out of business and leave it at that. One thing I've learned in life is to count your blessings instead of questioning them." 

"Point." Mega Man agreed as they reached the ladder. "You go first; your ride's unsteady." 

"I noticed." The cyclops looked down at his dragonfly, which was struggling to throw him off. As he clambered onto the ladder, the robot shot forward and smashed into the opposite wall. "Shame." Break Man remarked as Mega Man got on and sent Rush off. "Waste of a good ride." 

"Just climb." Mega growled. Once they had reached the top, changing ladders once along the way, the two found Doc Man waiting for them right in the open, still twitching. 

"So, you have a friend..." The madbot hissed. "You must be Break Man. You've irritated me thouroughly with your interference, you know." 

"Really? What a shame." Break Man smirked. "We're here to take you down, pal. Ready to die?" 

"No, I don't think so!" Doc Man cackled. "Come forth, my servant!" Below his feet, something was rising from the ground. As his hologram dissipated, it was revealed that Doc Man was actually standing on a gigantic, 20-foot floating METOOL. "This pet was unfinished when you first came here, but now he's ready! Have fun!" Bowing mockingly, he shakily backflipped off behind his guardian and ran. The Giant Metool blinked at them a few times, then began slowly floating up and down while spitting bright red cannonballs in a three-way spread. 

"That thing looks pretty well armored!" Mega yelled as he slid under a shot. "See anything that looks like a weak point?" 

"Go for the obvious first! The eyes and mouth!" Break Man called, returning fire. His shots bounced off all three spots. "Scratch that idea. Look for anything else that stands out... that cross on the front of the helmet!" 

"I'm on it!" Mega nodded and shot off a plasma bullet that sank into the cross with a hiss. "Yup, that's it! Keep shooting there!" The Giant Metool, sensing danger, switched its attack plan; now, instead of cannonballs, regular Metools dropped from the mouth and ran towards the two. "Hey, can you keep those off me?" 

"Sure." Break Man nodded and began picking them off, leaving Mega to blast the big one. A moment later, the Giant Metool moaned and sunk back into the hidden pit it had risen from, with smoke pouring out from under its helmet. Walking across it, the two continued on. At first, it looked like there were just some ordinary Metools in the way; however, as they drew near and the enemies raised their heads, propellors popped out of the tops of the helmets, and they launched themselves into the air. Break Man and Mega Man just stared up for a moment, then calmly blew them out of the sky. 

"Stupid design... just exposes the vulnerable undersides even more." Break Man growled as they took out a pair of cannons. Suddenly, the ground shook a little. The red robot groaned as he saw the hole in the ground ahead. "Another one of those Giant Metools... quick, you go ahead and chase the maniac! I'll handle the big guy and catch up afterwards." 

"You sure?" Mega asked doubtfully. Break Man made a rude noise. 

"Of course not, but we don't have time to think this through, because the way will be blocked off in just a moment, so MOVE!" Mega nodded and ran across the helmet just as it was emerging. He was immediately bowled over by a Hari Harry that tumbled down some stairs. 

"I think somebody's trying to tell me something..." Mega growled as he climbed up and walked through the metal shutter. 

"My babies didn't deter you, it seems." Doc Man snarled. "Although it seems you've misplaced your friend... did they get him?" 

"As if." Mega snorted. "He's whacking the second one as we speak; the guy was generous enough to let me have you instead." 

"Well then, I'll have to oblige you, won't I?!" Doc Man screamed, raising his shaking arms skyward again. "Come forth, spirit of destruction! The explosions of chaos, the detonations of disorder, a tiny thing that can bring down a titan! Come forth... CRASH MAN!" The hologram of the launcher-armed Robot Master merged with Doc Man's body, and he leaped into the air, throwing a pink bomb towards Mega. 

_No air-based weapons this time..._ Mega thought as he slid under the Crash Bomb. _Next option, use logic... but there's not much logical thinking about bombs. OOF!_ While he had been thinking, Doc Man had punched him in the face, then thrown a Bomb at him. It exploded, slamming him against the far wall. _Shit... okay, think. What would be a good third idea... what would Break Man do?_ He smiled as he thought of what the grumpy red robot would say if he knew what Mega was thinking. 

**__**

Fight fire with fire, stupid! 

Fire with fire, eh? Mega's colors changed to a much darker blue. "Have a knuckle sandwich on me, pal!" Pointing his arm cannon, he fired off a Hard Knuckle. Doc Man was completely unprepared for the slow explosive. It smashed him full in the face, then blew, sending HIM flying against the wall. Mega snickered and shot off two more at his enemy while he lay there. As the last one exploded in his face, Doc Man jumped back up to his large feet. 

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?!" He screamed almost plaintively. Taking out another of his stock of E-Tanks, he drank it and immediately hunched over, hissing and coughing. A moment later, he warped away. Mega sighed and went back into his regular colors just as Break Man entered. 

"Did you get him?" 

"You could say that." Mega told his rival. "I whupped him good, but he ran away. Again. I'm tracing it... now! He's back in Mt. Vesuvius!" 

"Well, let's get after him, then." Break Man said sharply. "Come on, move it!" In a stream of red light, he was gone. Nodding, Mega Man drank an E-Tank, then followed suit in his own streak of blue light, ready to end the chase at last. 

*** 

"I must say, I don't entirely approve of the new wallpaper." Break Man cracked as he and Mega Man plummeted down the now-spike-walled shaft that was the entrance to the Vesuvius mine. Once landing, they climbed up and down ladders for a few minutes, blasting the Peterchies that offered only token resistance. As they were about to go down to the next floor, Break Man frowned. "Hold on." He put his ear to the floor. "Wait up here a moment. I gotta do something." He jumped down. Mega Man shrugged and leaned against the wall. From below, he heard several heavy thumping sounds, as well as a clattering followed by a low hiss. After about a minute, Break Man called to him, and Mega dropped down to see his rival standing before a Bikki stomper with a fresh coat of spraypaint. 

"Did you HAVE to do that?" Mega Man asked as he slid under the robot when it jumped. 

"Yes, I believe I did." Break Man replied, darting around it. They dropped down another level, and Mega Man groaned at seeing what was ahead. Break Man looked at him. 

"Something wrong?" 

"Yeah." The blue robot told him glumly, pointing. "Those things on the ceiling create holograms that cover the whole room in deep space. And there's tons of pits, too. We'll have to get across on those tiny little floating platforms, and they look very untrustworthy... I don't like how the two parts connect at the center. We're gonna have to use them, though." 

"Correction; I have to. You can just ride your dog." Break Man growled. "Nothing for me to rodeo this time." 

"Yeah, there aren't any flying enemies..." Mega Man frowned, thinking. "Do you think you could hang from the bottom of Rush?" The red robot's eye narrowed. 

"I suppose so... but could you control it?" 

"Yeah, I could." Mega assured him. "However, I'd have to use all my attention on it, which means killing enemies is up to you." Break Man nodded and cocked his arm cannon. 

"Let's do it." Rush whined a little bit as the strange robot grabbed onto his paw, but lifted up and away. As they neared a dome, the hologram kicked in, and they were in space. "Whoa... this is cool. But dangerous. Goodnight!" Break Man fired at the place where the dome had been, and with its destruction, the hologram collapsed. The others were dealt with in a similar fashion, and the Walking Bombs below couldn't jump up high enough to reach them. They soon safely reached the other side. As they hopped off, Mega noticed that Rush was panting heavily. 

"You okay, Rush?" 

"He looks pooped." Break Man observed. "How long has it been since you went back to wherever you call home for some rest?" 

"Several hours." Mega told him. "Ever since I started chasing El Docco." 

"Well, that explains it. The poor pooch is exhausted." Break Man reprimended him as they dropped down another floor. "You should avoid using him again until we're done here." 

"Yeah, I suppose so..." Mega Man agreed as they blasted a pair of Peterchies. "There's the steel shutter. Let's go, Round 7. Ho hum." 

"So, you brought your friend to the fight this time..." Doc Man wheezed. Instead of standing to face his enemy as usual, the maniac was crouched in a corner. Slowly, he got to his feet. "Well, it won't make any difference... the form I have this time makes the number of enemies irrelevant! Come forth, spirit of nature! The all-encompassing wild, which grows and feeds off everything in existance! Come forth... Wood Man!" Break Man jumped back as the image of the stout brown Robot Master appeared. 

"What the hell?!" 

"Easy." Mega Man told him. "It's just his holograms. He's showing off." 

"Aah. I knew that. Whoa, incoming!" Doc Man had absorbed Wood Man's hologram and created a shield of metal leaves that rotated around him while firing more up into the air. Now, as the ones he had tossed up descended, the mad robot flung his Leaf Shield at his adversaries. Mega Man hurdled it, but Break Man, unexpecting this, was floored. "Damn, that hurts! I hate nature! Any idea what will kill this guy?" 

"Fire... but I don't have any weapons that use that..." Mega said as he dodged the falling leaves. "What do trees hate... blades! I'll use the Shadow Blade!" 

"All RIGHTY then!" Break Man laughed as he flipped back to his feet. "Let's chop some lumber!" He turned purple at the same time as Mega Man, and they simultaneously launched their weapons. The Shadow Blades flew straight and true, lodging in Doc Man's chest, who choked, his eyes going wide. Then, with a cackle, he ripped the Blades out and threw them back. 

"FOOLS! You cannot defeat me!" 

"So much for THAT idea." Break Man commented as Doc raised another Leaf Shield. "My turn for an idea. I say we fight fire with fire, and green with green. Get out your Search Snakes." 

"Gotcha." Mega Man nodded, and both robots turned green. "When I say now, jump and start launching the Snakes. NOW!" The Leaf Shield whizzed under both robots, and they returned fire with the small serpents. Doc Man screamed as they began chewing into his appendages. Grinning, the two heroes continued firing more. Frantically, Doc Man brought up his Leaf Shield, but the Snakes easily squirreled through the gaps. Finally, he ran for it, shmmering slightly. Mega frowned. 

"Something was off about that..." 

"No kidding." Break Man said in a strangely strangled voice. Mega turned to him and gasped; Doc Man was holding his arm cannon to Break Man's head. 

"Make a move, and he dies." 

"Don't listen!" Break Man yelled. "Finish him off!" 

"I... I..." Mega Man stuttered. Doc Man's eyes flashed red with triumph. 

"Now, I want you to make both your hands into arm cannons, then fire at once. The resulting overload will completely atomize you, but your friend will live, I promise you. Now do it!" 

"Shaddup!" Break Man snapped. "Mega, don't worry about me! End it now!" 

"..." Mega Man looked back and forth between them, still frozen. Doc Man laughed. 

"Come on, bastard! Give your life for your friend!" 

"...Idiot." Break Man said slowly. "You can't do it... well, fortunately, I just realized there are other alternatives." There was a flash of yellow and grey, and Doc Man was thrown away, howling and firing madly, as Break Man executed the Top Spin. The insane robot pulled out a seventh E-Tank and drained it, then fell to the floor with a scream. Spasming, he crawled out as Mega Man knelt next to his rival, who had fallen as well after the Top Spin ended. 

"You okay, Break Man?" 

"Afraid not..." His rival chuckled darkly. "A lot of those random shots hit me. I'm not gonna be able to continue on... I gotta go back for repairs." He glared at Mega Man, his one eye completely devoid of any kind of humor. "Listen. You can't afford to hesitate like that again. Doc Man will not hesitate to take advantage of any sort of weakness. A moment of sympathy or pity like that will get you dead, and he'll be free to continue his rampages. You have to destroy him, no matter the cost; not just for yourself, but for all the other people he could kill in the future if he's allowed to live. Remember that, Mega Man. I'll see you around." Whistling, he teleported away. 

*** 

"All right, that's half of them." Dr. Light stood up and looked proudly at his and his partner's work. The massive, altered fusion generator that would be placed in Gamma's chest shone with crystals of red, orange, purple and green. "I think we deserve a break." 

"Agreed." Dr. Wily nodded, wiping his brow with a rag. Turning, he moved towards the small space where the workers had set up a break area. The wild-haired robotocist started up a pot of coffee, then sat down next to Light. "We can't rest long... even after we finish up the power core, Gamma's still minus his head." 

"Yes, I know." Dr. Light smiled. "What do you suppose the UN would say if we were to parade them out there minus their heads?" 

"Probably something unsuitable for children." Wily chuckled. "We could get a big burlap sack, stick it on his neck, and draw a face on it." 

"Or a giant disco ball!" Light giggled at the thought. "That would be a real shining performance!" 

"Yeah!" Wily laughed for a few moments longer, then turned grim. "Tom. You know that Vinkus will be there." 

"He has to be." Light nodded. "He's the UN representative from Japan. Besides, several other UN members will be flying down here for this, and the rest will be there holographically. Nothing that any of us could do would be able to stop Vinkus from being there." 

"I know." Wily said glumly. "But it won't be easy for me to face him, Tom. That fat idiot still thinks of me as a raving lunatic, and he'll try to sway the rest of the UN and the crowd to think that way too. You don't know what it's like to have people staring at you, with hatred and disgust in their eyes... and to know in your heart that they're right, that it's true, that you're every bit as much of a monster as they think..." 

"That's enough, Al." Dr. Light said sharply. "Stop thinking like that right now, because it's not true. You're NOT a monster, you hear me? The Rebellions were caused by that teleporter accident, nothing else. And we both know that that's finished now. You were cured, and that's the end of it, no matter what Vinkus and anybody else stupid enough to think like him believe. The opinions of people like that are worth even less than the people themselves, and you should pay them no heed." He smiled. "The limitless ability of humans to commit mass stupidity, remember?" 

"Yeah..." Dr. Wily slowly smiled as well. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Vinkus can go to hell; we've got a Peace-Keeper to build!" 

"NOW you're talking!" Light grinned widely. "We were the first, and we're still the best, robot designers in the world!" 

"First the Robot Masters, now Gamma!" Wily shouted happily. "We're going down in history, Tom! Light and Wily, the greatest robotocists ever!" The two doctors slapped their hands together in an ancient gesture they had learned from their grandparents as children called a "High Five." The coffee machine beeped. 

"Coffee's ready." Light announced as he got up and walked towards it. 

"So I noticed." 

"Be nice." Light murmured, pouring the cups. "We should probably drink these while we work... we need to get moving. After all, our ultimate Peace-Keeper needs to be completed." 

"I'll drink to that." Wily took his mug, and the two doctors resumed their work with the yellow and blue Crystals. 

*** 

"You know, you can always tell when your enemy is getting desperate." Mega Man chatted with the Hammer Joe as he shot at it. "They always make things really nasty then... usually by sheer numbers. Wouldn't you agree?" The robot just glared at him and flung its shotput. Mega slide under and finished it off. "Geez, you're an even worse conversationalist than the other two." He remarked as he moved on. Ahead was the lava lake. Mega smiled. "Of course, this time I have Rush. I'll just... no, wait, scratch that idea." The ceiling had been lowered a great deal, and the entire thing was covered with deadly spikes. "Overkill much?" The blue hero muttered as he began making his way across the stepping-stone platforms that rose from the molten rock. "No, not really..." The defenses had been beefed up; the parachuters were still there (and just as easily wiped out), but the dragonflies had been replaced by deadly Kero Hoppers that threatened to knock him off into the lava. Fortunately, they didn't seem too good at judging distances; several times, they jumped straight into the lava. All in all, Mega didn't find it too difficult making it to the other side, where he found a solitary Giant Springer guarding the door. He chuckled. 

"Doc's running out of time, if this is all he has..." The hero frowned, all mirth gone. "His time's run out, all right. This time... it ends." Draining his last E-Tank, he walked in. 

"This time it ends, eh?" His nemesis greeted him. "Oh, you're right about that... this time it DOES end! But I think your idea of exactly whose life will end is a little off the mark." 

"Oh, I don't think so." Mega said coldly. "You have slaughtered hundreds in your insane pursuit of petty revenge, Doc Man. For that, you must die." 

"No! Never!" Doc Man laughed. "You little fool, my revenge cannot be denyed! I've done too much, sacrificed too much for it to fail!" 

"Sacrificed things that were not yours to give." The blue robot growled. "You should have died, Doc Man. You should have died those years ago, back in the destruction of the First Skull Fortress. Ever since then, your presence on this earth has been a plague... a blight." 

"As yours has been on my life, ever since the day I was created!" Doc Man hissed. "Well, no more! This shall be your last fight, Mega Man! No more running! Your curse ends here!" 

"Are you going to kill me with the empty words of a madman? If you want to fight... then summon your pathetic illusion." Mega Man told his enemy. 

"FINE!" The insane robot screeched, throwing his arms up. "Come forth, spirit of flames! The fires of Hell itself, burning away all of existence and leaving only charred waste! Come forth... Heat Man!" The final Robot Master hologram appeared and descended. Doc Man laughed. "BURN!" With a flick of his buster, he sent three firebombs flying at Mega. He slid under two, but the third slammed right into him. "GOTCHA! Die, hero!" 

"Not that easy!" Mega Man jumped to his feet and fired off a Hard Knuckle. Laughing, Doc Man was surrounded by flamed, and the explosive melted harmlessly. Mega cursed and jumped as the demon blasted forth under him, then turned and tried a Spark Shot. It nailed Doc Man in the back, but barely scratched him. 

"Fool! Electricity and flames are kin!" He tossed more firebombs, and again, Mega was hit by one in the process of dodging the others. He launched a Search Snake, but again, Doc Man deflected it with flames and blazed forward. Mega Man was barely able to jump and counter with the Needle Cannon. The projectiles slammed into his foe's back... and again, did little to no damage. "Puny pins cannot hurt me, you whelp! I am a demon!" The firebomb attack again, with equal results. This time, Mega tried a Gemini Beam, but again the mad robot blocked it, then rushed, knocking Mega Man down and trampling him. Worried, Mega threw a Shadow Blade that didn't even penetrate his enemy's armor. "Idiot! You think I shall be slain with the weapon that came from this world's master?" 

_NOT GOOD._ Mega thought as he was hit by another firebomb. _The slow weapons are blocked, and the fast ones don't touch him! And my Magnet Missile's empty... I'm out of options..._ On the other side of the room, Doc Man had come to the same realization. 

"What's wrong? You still have your precious old Magnet Missile... unless you're out of it, of course! In which case, you would be quite screwed, wouldn't you?" He slowly walked towards his trapped opponent, chuckling darkly. "Give it up. You can't win. Your previous weapons are useless against me now. You have no chances left... all your cards have been played." 

_No... no they haven't!_ Mega Man suddenly realized. _The TOP SPIN! _He had almost forgotten the glitching, half-done weapon. But now... it was all he had left. His last chance. He had to get Doc close... "I... no..." Mega tried to stumbled back, and his back hit the wall. "Get away from me!" 

"Come on... it's no use." The villain kept on coming until he was standing directly in front of his hated adversary. "Just surrender, and make it quick... I'll destroy your entire body in flames instantly, and you won't even feel a thing..." 

"Doc Man." Mega looked up at the demon. "Just... one thing. When you said all my cards were played..." 

"Yes...?" Doc Man reached for his opponent, savoring his victory. He grasped him, pulled him close... then stared at the yellow and grey colors. 

"You forgot about the Old Maid." In an instant, Mega Man was spinning, and Doc Man was right at the center of the rotation. The intense speed and force struck him hundreds, thousands of times in seconds. The mad robot brought the flames back, but they were swept away by the speed. Frantically, he tried to escape, but was pulled back. When he lost all his weapons energy, and the Spin ended, Mega Man saw his enemy flat on the floor, losing fluids from his entire body. In the dim light of the fortress, it looked as if Doc Man was covered in blood. 

"No..." Weakly, he tried to drink an E-Tank, but the moment it passed his lips he vomited the energy back up, mixed with his own vital fluids. He retched again, and this time it was the dark green of coolant. "NO!" He teleported. Slowly, Mega analyzed the trail. 

"He's gone back to where he came from." Mega noted. "To where this Rebellion started. He can't possibly survive those injuries... but I need to be sure." Steeling himself, he followed. 

To the house of Dr. Cedric Froid. 

*** 

"No wonder he never invited us in..." Mega murmured as he looked around. The manor looked perfectly normal from the outside, but once you were in, it was a wreckage. The expensive furniture had been splintered and shattered in Doc Man's insane frenzies, and the walls had hundreds of blast marks. Opening a door, Mega Man bowed his head as he found a charred human corpse in the shreds of a fancy suit, lying in a corner near a trashed computer. The remains of Donald Richolds. The politician had been a sorry, corrupt excuse for a human, but he had not deserved this death, and had tried to absolve for his sins in his final moments. "I promise you, your death won't go in vain... Doc Man's reign ends here." He straightened the body into a position of repose, and mentally promised that after he was done here, he would make sure the man was given a proper burial. With his resolve even more steely, the heroic robot moved on. Discovering nothing on the second floor, he moved on down to the first. As he entered a kitchen, Dr. Cedric Froid suddenly ran towards him. 

"Mega Man! You're here! Thank god! That monster's been keeping me locked up-ARGH!" 

"Don't even try that, you sicko." Mega Man hissed, firing again. "I know your tricks! You can't fool me!" Doc Man ran, and Mega pursued him. Rounding a corner, he met Donald Richolds. 

"Mega! He went down that hall! If you hurry, you can-AIEE!" 

"Donald Richolds is DEAD!" Mega spat. "YOU killed him, you monster!" Again, Doc Man ran. The next corner Rock turned, Dr. Light was waiting. 

"Mega! It's okay, you can-ACK!" 

"Don't you DARE try to impersonate my father!" Mega Man screamed as his foe fled. The next time it was Roll. 

"Mega, stop! Don't shoot meEEARGH!" 

"Forget it! Your holograms are useless! You can't stop me!" The demonic robot dashed away, sobbing. When Mega turned the corner, he found Dr. Wily with a handheld laser, standing over Doc Man's smoking corpse. Behind him was a black pair of double doors

"I killed him, Mega! He's dead! You can stop now... NO!" 

"Wily... Albert isn't here, you BASTARD!" Rock screamed, all his tolerance finally broken. "His killing days are over! You're all that's left! He's GOOD now! He's not insane!" The false corpse dissipated, and the mortally wounded enemy burst through the double doors to what had once been Froid's basement. Following, Rock finally entered the lair of Doc Man. The dark room was filled with computers and complex machinery. Thos was the origin... the core of the Third Robot Rebellion. Slowly, Rock walked through, buster ready. Hearing a noise, he whipped around to face... himself. The two Mega Men said nothing... they just stared at each other. One face filled with hatred and desperation; the other filled with determination and contempt... and strangely, pity. And then, the second blasted the first point-blank in the face. 

"That was your worst attempt ever." Mega Man told Doc Man as the hologram dropped. "Old trick... already a proven failure. Face facts... You've lost." 

"No..." The insane robot said, hyperventilating even though he did not need to breathe. "NO.... **NOOOOO!!!**" At that moment, the final traces of sanity left in Doc Man shattered. The servos that controlled his mouth shattered as his grin grew beyond what was physically possible, and he shoved his arm cannon into his own chest. "YOU WILL NEVER KILL ME! NEVER!!!" And then, he fired.   
Mega Man jumped back, shielding himself from the explosion. When it died down, he slowly moved forward, wary for any more tricks. What he found was Doc Man. Or, to be specific, Doc Man's head, left arm and upper chest; all the rest of him had been completely obliterated by the blast. Mega Man knelt down, and the dying robot slowly looked at him. 

"Why... why can't... I do it... my revenge... I deserved it... didn't I...?" 

"Revenge is a sterile thing, Doc Man." Mega murmured. "You did all that for revenge... and this is how it ends? All those deaths... for this? WHY?" 

"It was... all I had..." Doc Man whispered. "All that... was left in the world... for me..." He hacked. "I survived Skull Castle... I repaired and modified myself... all for revenge. I posed as Dr. Cedric Froid... I faked the results of the treatments to release my father... all for revenge. I began the Third Robot Rebellion... I killed all those people... all for revenge." He looked at Rock with his eyes glazed over, the red light of madness and life fading. "And I would do it again... pity me not, Mega Man. I am... no poor soul. I... am... simply... a... demon..." He sighed once, and then his eyes closed for the last time. Mega Man remained there for several seconds, then rose. 

"It's over." He tried to walk, and nearly collapsed. He had been so driven to finishing the threat, the hero had barely noticed that he himself was completely drained by the marathon battle. Slowly, he struggled over to a stasis capsule in a corner, which he assumed Doc Man has used, and loaded himself into it. 

Seconds later, he was fast asleep. 


	15. Chapter 14: Break Down

**__**

Chapter 14: Break Down 

"Oy... not again." Dr. Wily groaned as the sound of knocking on the door reverberated through the warehouse. "No rest for the wicked, I guess..." 

"I think I figured that out when they were still coming around at midnight." Dr. Light wearily reminded his partner. "Blasted newsies, can't they wait six freaking hours?!" 

"Apparently not." Wily rose and walked towards the door. "I'll run 'em off again." Silently stepping next to it and placing his hand on the doorknob, the doctor suddenly whisked it open and stuck his head out with a maniacal grin. "BLEAH!!! I'M THE EVIL DOCTOR WILY!!! RUN, BEFORE MY ROBOTS EAT YOU!!!" 

"..." Roll just stared at him. "...If it wasn't for the first law, I'd hit you over the head." Wily sheepishly scratched his head. 

"Hey, it's been nonstop newsies for hours. Can you blame me?" 

"Yes." Roll said blandly as she entered. "How's it coming?" 

"Almost... there." Dr. Light grunted. "Done! The core's finished!" He got to his feet and dusted off his labcoat. "Now, we've got six hours to complete the head and get Gamma over to the stadium." 

"But first, we gotta actually install it." Wily reminded him. Sitting behind the controls of a crane, he used it to pick up the core, which was about the size of a car. "Stinkin' Energen Crystals... sure, they're wonders of science and technology, but they're freakin' hard to install. You have to get 'em exactly right, or BOOM. Remember that, Roll." 

"Oh, I will." Roll snorted. "That'll come in handy the next time I decide to build a gigantic weapon of mass destruction." 

"Watch your mouth, young miss." Wily told her. "You may not be able to lay a finger on me, but the converse is not true. Don't tempt me to drop this thing on your head." 

"Yeah, yeah." Roll muttered as she watched the crane slowly lower the core into Gamma's chest cavity. Once it was in, Wily turned the crane off and ran over to the huge robot, and he and Light immediately began connecting wires. "So, how long will this take?" 

"Not long. About ten minutes." Dr. Light told his daughter without looking up. "Be faster if you help us out." Roll shrugged and joined the two doctors. 

"Why not. It's not like just sitting here and commenting is doing anything useful." She bent over and started working. 

"So, why'd you come down here?" Dr. Wily asked. Roll shrugged. 

"Boredom, I guess. All the paperwork for the unveiling was done. And Rock's not back yet." 

"He hasn't returned?" Light frowned, worried. "That's not good. He should have been able to deal with that psycho by now... do you think he's in trouble?" 

"Rock? Naah." Wily shook his head. "He took me on twice and won both times, against all odds. There's no way he'd lose to a nutjob like Doc Man. He probably just decided to conk out after he toasted the psycho." 

"Hope so." Roll sighed. The work continued in silence for several minutes, until they finished the wiring. "All right. Now what?" 

"Now, we put on the chestplate. Step back." Dr. Light walked over to the wall and pressed a button. From the ceiling, a gigantic sheet of armor was slowly lowered down on pulleys until it covered the chest of the gigantic Gamma. "Now, we have to weld it on. Welding torches and masks are over there, Roll." Dr. Light pointed as he picked up his own equipment, and Dr. Wily did the same. "Let's get to work." 

"By the way..." Roll spoke after a while. "The major guests will be coming by in a short while to accompany us." 

"Major guests?" Wily frowned. 

"Yeah. Corbun, Xanthos-sorry, I meant Mr. X-and, unfortunately, Vinkus." She said something uncomplimentary under her breath. "Couldn't keep him away, or he'd claim we were hiding an evil plot or something. You know what Vinkus is like." 

"Oh, we do indeed." Light laughed. "Some of my favorite memories of him are his reactions every time we came up with a new robot design for the Second Rainbow... particularly when we came up with Blues. I thought he was going to have a stroke." 

"World would have been better off." Wily grunted. "What do you suppose are the chances that he'll get run over by a car on the way here?" 

"About a billion to one." Roll told him. 

"Rats. Maybe seeing Gamma activated will cause his head to explode?" 

"Ten billion to one." 

"Double rats." 

"Do you suppose we could concentrate on the job at hand instead of chattering about the unlikely prospects of our enemy's untimely death?" Dr. Light asked sarcastically. 

"Yeah, yeah, keep your labcoat on." Wily shot back. "Welding is boring work, Tom. A little talk helps keep away the tedium." 

"It also slows you down. And we don't have time to spare." Light said. Wily glared at him. 

"Fine." A few minutes of silence later, the three turned off their torches and raised the protective masks. "There. We're done. Now, all we need is the head." 

"Mind if I look at the plans for that?" Roll asked, curious. Light shook his head. 

"Not at all. By all means, go ahead." The doctor grabbed a roll of blueprints and tossed them to his daughter. Uncurling them, she began scanning. 

"Hmm... giving him a lantern jaw, I see. Like Heracles. You're putting a plasma launcher here?" 

"Yeah." Wily nodded. "In case some bright boy somehow gets in close to the head to try and take it out, Gamma will be able to use plasma fire to blast 'em away without risking hitting its own head with the greater weapons." 

"Makes sense." Roll agreed, tossing the blueprints aside. "So, shall we get to work?" 

"Let's, indeed." Dr. Light and his daughter began walking towards the pile of materials in one corner. "We've got a lot of work, and not much time in which to do it." 

"Yeah." Wily followed. "Even though Gamma won't have Robot-Master-level intelligence, constructing the brain will still be tricky. Roll, can you make some coffee? We've been working all night, and I'm starting to feel the effects. And Tom's older than me, so he must be even worse." 

"I may be older than you, but I'm still the better at making the brains, Al. You're right about the coffee, though; some espresso would be definately appreciated, Roll." 

"Coming right up." The robot girl smiled and began preparing the drinks. Light grinned. 

"Excellent. You know, I still can't believe Gamma is almost complete. It just doesn't seem real, you know?" 

"Yeah." Wily nodded. "Rock, Roll and Blues may be our greatest triumphs in the realm of minds, but when it comes to the physical scale... Gamma is simply beyond anything this world has ever seen." 

"Not without his head, he's not!" Light remarked cheerfully as he picked up some materials. "Let's go! This is going to be a day to remember!" 

"It will indeed..." Dr. Wily murmured, a smile coming to his face as he picked up a wrench and walked after his colleague. "It will indeed... 

*** 

_"So, you did it." The first Rock smiled. "You killed me." _

"That's right." The second Rock nodded grimly. "I did. You're dead. And this is just a dream, a figment of my imagination. If you don't mind, I'd prefer dreaming about people who are still alive. So, would you mind going away?" 

"Now that's just downright rude." The first Rock frowned. "I come all this way from the afterlife to give you a warning, and this is how you treat me?" 

"Wha-are you trying to tell me you're really-" 

"Really Doc Man, and not just your dream?" The first Rock grinned. "You got it. And believe me, being dead is no picnic. I think I preferred insanity." 

"Well, you deserved it." The second Rock said sharply. His opposite nodded. 

"Yeah, I probably do. I'm gonna be doing time for a long while, but they say maybe I can get up to the good part if I behave for a decade or so, since I'm back in my right mind now." The first Rock frowned, then dissolved into his true form. Doc Man looked very different now that his face was no longer twisted into that permanent, mad grin. "Anyways, I've got a message for you." 

"A message?" Rock smirked skeptically. "From who?" 

"Can't tell you that." Doc shrugged. "Sorry. Maybe message isn't the right word. Call it a premonition. Or maybe a prophecy. Hell, even a hallucination. Doesn't matter; once you wake up, you won't believe a word of this was real. For a short time, anyways." 

"Whatever." Rock sighed. "Just give me the prophecy already." 

"The message is this." Doc Man stared his enemy in the eyes. "Your task is not done. One more labor awaits you, and it shall be your most difficult thus far." 

"What the hell does that mean?" 

"You'll know soon enough." Doc shrugged. "I gotta be going; there's a boiling oil bath with my name on it. Yugh. See you in about fifteen years!" Everything went white... 

"Ugh..." Rock slowly rose out of the stasis capsule. "That was one wierd dream. I gotta stop sleeping in other people's stasis capsules. Especially insane people." Deliberately avoiding looking at the remains of Doc Man, he began walking back up to the front door. He could have just teleported away, but after the ordeal, he somehow needed to look at the sunrise before doing anything else. 

"Man... that fight must have had more of an effect than I thought on my psyche." Rock mumbled to himself. "The ghosts of dead enemies? Robots having an afterlife? This damned Rebellion still going on?" He smirked. "Yeah, right. I need to get more sun. Ah, here we go..." Opening the front door, he walked outside and winced as the sunlight hit his eyes. "Aich, that's bright..." Slowly, the optics adjusted. "That's better... huh?!" Outside, the lawn in front of Froid Manor had been transformed. A small plateau rose up, and the ground around it was completely flat. Rock ran over and began examining it. "This is odd... I wonder who did this. Nobody's around..." Shrugging, he hopped up and sat on the edge. "It's probably not my problem." 

"Oh, but it is." A familiar voice was heard, followed by a whistle. Mega didn't turn around. 

"Oh, hey Break Man. You did this?" 

"That's right." The red robot agreed. Mega frowned. Something in his voice seemed strange... flat, emotionless. 

"Any reason?" 

"..." Suddenly, Mega felt the business end of an arm cannon against the back of his head. "...You could say that. Get up." Mega stood up, and the arm cannon moved back. The blue hero turned to see his rival staring at him with his arms crossed, yellow scarf blowing in the wind. 

"All right. What's going on?" Mega growled. "Last time we met, we were on good terms. And I didn't see anything happen to change that." 

"You fool." Break Man snapped. "The world changes on its own, whether we want it to or not. Sometimes things happen that we can't fix, no matter how hard we try. This... is one of those things." He lowered his head. "You forget that the first time we met, I was trying to kill you. Since then, we've reached agreements. But things have changed now." He raised his head again and glared. "The rules have changed. And we're back to square one. We fight. For one last time, to decide it all. And to see if you really can live up to your reputation." 

"Do we have to?" Mega Man sighed. "I'd really prefer not-" 

"Your preferences mean nothing." The cyclops cut him off. "This meeting, and this duel, were fated to happen. In the great game of chess, we're just pawns." 

"I'd prefer to be a Knight, thanks." Mega wisecracked. "And I see you as more of a Bishop... never coming straight out. Just who are you, anyways? And why the hell do you want to fight me, anyways?" 

"That is irrelevant." Break Man answered. "For now, all that matters is the duel. It has to happen. However, if you live, I shall tell you all. Not right away, but soon after. Even if you defeat me here, you shall have one more task to complete... the most difficult task of all." 

"I had a dream telling me the same thing." Mega Man frowned. "What does it mean?" 

"That... will answer itself very soon. If you survive." Break Man told Mega. "Now, prepare yourself." 

"Oh, I will." Mega grinned. "You forget very quickly. I still have two major advantages over you. The Slide, and my Master Weapons." 

"The terrain is constructed to make your slide useless." Break Man smirked. "The central plateau is too small for it to be safe. And if you stay on the flat land below, you'll be a sitting duck for a guy on high ground. Namely, me. As for your Master Weapons... I'd say it's not me who forgets quickly." Before Mega's stunned eyes, the red robot rapidly shifted colors, one after another. First, a darker red and grey. Then grey and pink. Purple and lavender. Orange and white. Blue and grey. Brown and white. Green and white. Blue and white. Mega Man's jaw dropped. 

"Holy... I knew you had a few, but..." Break Man returned to his original colors and laughed. 

"That's right, you little fool. I have all your precious Master Weapons, just like you do. Every single one of them. Even that defunct Top Spin, although I hope neither of us is so desperate as to actually use that. The playing field, to use a metaphor, is completely even between us. Skill shall be the deciding factor here, and nothing more." He bowed once. "As they say in France... EN GUARDE!" And then he charged. 

*** 

"About time you got here." Darwin Vinkus snapped as the car pulled up in front of his house. "Do you know how long I've been waiting?" 

"No, I don't." Dr. Trent Corbun, former head of Sennet Robotics, answered pleasently. "A far more important question would be, do you know if we care? Me and Xanthos-" 

"Mr. X, please, my dear doctor." The other occupant of the car, Mr. X, corrected his friend. 

"Ahem. Yes. Me and Mr. X flew all the way down here from the other side of the world, so your waiting a few minutes doesn't mean that much to us right now. Just get in, will you? We should get going." Muttering to himself, Vinkus climbed into the back seat of the car, and the odd trio drove away towards the warehouse where Gamma was being completed. 

"...So how was the flight?" Vinkus asked after severl minutes, more out of a need to fill his boredom with some conversation than of any real curiosity. Trent rolled his eyes. 

"Ghastly. The airplane food looked like it was made out of a ground-up Smashbody model, and it tasted worse. We were up in a holding pattern for an hour, and I'm pretty sure the pilot was drunk. All in all, I can't recommend Union Airlines if you need to fly somewhere, even though I dislike you. X, you've been here for longer than me. How have you been doing?" 

"Quite good." The billionaire smiled. "The hotel I've been staying at is excellent, and I've enjoyed the cuisine... all except the wasabi." He turned his head to look at Vinkus. "I'm sorry, but I can't understand how you people can eat that stuff. I honestly thought I was going to die, and my choice of vocabulary almost took the entire restaraunt with me." 

"I'm not too fond of it either." Vinkus admitted, dusting off his spectacles. "It causes my ulcer to flare up." The British Trent chuckled. 

"I'll have to try some... I wonder if it's any good on a scone?" Vinkus immediately turned green and covered his mouth at this suggestion, making a gagging noise. Mr. X, noticing his reaction, leaned over to Trent as the politician in the back leaned out a window. 

"You shouldn't bait him like that." 

"Vinkus? He'll be fine." The doctor shrugged. "It's not really hurting him. You're okay, right Vinkus?" He called back. Vinkus pulled his head back in and glared at him. 

"I'm fine, no thanks to you; although you probably took a few years of my heart's lifespan with that revolting idea." 

"Gee, what a shame." 

"Gentlemen, please." Mr. X held up his hands. "Let us not fight now, when Gamma's unveiling is so close." 

"Oh, all right." Trent sighed, and Vinkus grunted his assent. The billionaire smiled. 

"Good. Now then, let's talk about something else. Are you both looking forward to the unveiling?" 

"I know I am." Trent nodded. "And I'm looking forward to seeing Mega Man too... I really need to talk with him." 

"About what?" Vinkus inquired. Trent's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. 

"Mega's recaptured all of the mines. That's good. But we still don't have a mastermind... the brains behind the operation, the one who was truly responsible for the deaths of all my men at those mines. Until he's found and the ones he killed are avenged..." 

"Patience, doctor." Mr. X told him. "The culprit will be found in due course. For now, just relax and enjoy the show." 

"I'm not going to enjoy this much, I'm afraid." Vinkus said darkly. "I still have many apprehensions about this. Do you remember the invention of nuclear weapons? Back then, people only saw the glory and power of such things. They never considered that perhaps man was not meant to control such potential for annihilation. And I see that happening again here." 

"You're a worrywart, Vinkus." Trent snorted. "Tom and Al are very aware of that danger, and they're taking steps to protect against it." Vinkus' eyes narrowed. 

"I suppose so... but no safeguards are completely foolproof. Your own Robot Masters demonstrated that. And besides, I don't entirely trust Wily either. I'm sorry, but the man nearly conquered the world and killed hundreds. Even with his sanity apparently returned, I'm very leery. And don't call me anything, because he seems to feel the same way himself." 

"That's hardly an excuse, Darwin." Mr. X chided. "But I do reluctantly admit that I can understand your point of view. I hope that you will be able to trust him more once Gamma is unveiled without a hitch." 

"Maybe." Vinkus grunted. "Speaking of untrustworthy people, where is Richolds? And Froid, for that matter? Until a few days ago, they were up front with us. Now they've both mysteriously disappeared." Trent frowned. 

"I hate to say it, but I agree with you there. That is very strange. Where could they have gone? I can understand one of them being called off somewhere on some urgent family matter or something, but both of them at once? Not likely. Something's going on here... do you suppose it might have something to do with the Rebellion?" 

"Normally I'd say you were being paranoid, but in this case, you might be on to something." Vinkus nodded. "There's no telling what whatever maniac is behind this could do. But I would think he'd go after the Lights themselves first, not that pair of second-rate hacks." 

"Perhaps the doctors will know something about it." Mr. X suggested. "We shall have to ask them when we get there." 

"I'm not holding my breath." Vinkus muttered. The conversation stopped after that, and the three drove in silence for the remaining several minutes before Trent parked the car in front of an old warehouse. 

"We're here." He announced, smirking. "Passengers, please remain seated until the car has come to a complete stop. At that point, you may unfasten your safety belts and exit through the nearest doorway. Or, if you prefer, passengers in coach may exit through the window. Thank you for flying Sennet Airlines, and we hope that you fly with us again soon! Enjoy your show!" 

"Wiseass." Vinkus muttered as he exited the vehicle. The other two also climbed out, and together, the three men stepped up to the door of the warehouse. 

"Hello! Tom, Al, we're here!" Trent knocked on the door. No response. "Hello? Anybody there?" He knocked again, several times, without an answer. "Huh! Do you suppose they went out for breakfast?" 

"At a time like this? I doubt it." Vinkus snorted. "Hold on, this is unlocked..." The door swung open, and the three men looked inside. At the sight of what was waiting there, their eyes bugged out, and their jaws fell upon in unison as their skin went instantly dead white all over. After several moments of silent staring, each of them croaked out a single word. 

"What..." 

"The..." 

Vinkus' word was unsuitable for print. 

*** 

"You want a fight?! I'll give you one!" Enraged by what he considered a meaningless battle, especially at this time, Mega Man fired off a blistering salvo of Magnet Missiles. Break Man didn't falter for a second, blasting them out of the air with his arm cannon before switching to his own Magnet Missiles and responding in kind. Mega Man just smirked; as they grew near, so did Break Man. Suddenly, he slid under the enemy, falling off the plateau. Smiling at the sounds of the explosions above, he looked up, then groaned; the wily red robot had held his shield overhead and blocked most of the damage. 

"Nice try. Here!" Switching to the Shadow Blade, Break Man deftly hit Mega Man in the arm with it. The hero snorted and changed his weapon to match his adversary, jumping away as he threw it. Break Man leaped over it, throwing more of his own, which Mega sidestepped. 

"You need to work on your aim, pal!" Mega Man taunted as he threw a pair, one at Break Man's left arm, the other at his right leg. It seemed there would be no way for him to dodge both... until the cyclops switched back to his buster and blew one out of the air while dodging the other. 

"Heh. Close, but no cigARGH!" He yelled as the third blade which had been flying horizontally across the ground slammed into his foot. Mega snickered. 

"Your vision's lacking, one-eye." 

"Well, maybe I'll have more luck with this!" Break Man's color scheme went to orange and white, and he shot off a chain of Spark Shots. Mega harrumphed. 

"Two can play at that game." Changing to the Spark Shot himself, the hero responded with his own salvo. Break Man's eye widened. 

"IDIOT!" As he jerked his shield up, the bursts collided, and the whole thing exploded in a massive spray of electrical energy. Despite his shield, Break Man was blown across by the force, off the other side of the plateau. When the noise had ceased, he slowly lowered his shield to see his adversary standing on the plateau, covered in scorch marks and looking rather sheepish. 

"Okay, that was pretty stupid." 

"Amen to THAT." Break Man rolled his eye. "News flash, blue boy; you don't fight electricity with MORE electricity! Sheesh! I mean, gimme a break here!" 

"Arm or leg?" 

"Ha, ha." They grinned at each other, and for a moment, their old camaderie was back. Then, they simultaneously turned grim again as Break Man leaped back onto the plateau. "Don't do that again. If you want an explosion, just use this!" He turned dark blue, and fired off the heavy explosive called the Hard Knuckle. "One knuckle sandwich, hold the mustard!" 

"Robots don't eat, you one-eyed loon." Mega countered as he jumped forward, over it, and used his own Hard Knuckle. Break Man jumped to the left and tried another. Again, Mega Man leaped forward before firing his second. This time, Break Man jumped right. 

"This obviously isn't working." Break Man informed his enemy as he fired his third. "We're both too fast to get caught by this slow clod. What say we try something else?" 

"Oh, I don't know..." Mega grinned as he jumped forward a third time and landed right in front of his shocked opponent. "It has its uses." The point-blank Hard Knuckle blasted Break Man off the plateau again, and he landed on his rear. 

"Yeowch..." The red robot moaned as he got back up. "Nice trick, but it won't work on me twice." 

"Yeah, I figured as much." Mega admitted as he switched back to his arm cannon. "I've got 50% energy left... you?" 

"Same... 50%." Break Man said after a moment. "We've tried the slowest weapon... now, let's see how you can handle the fastest!" As he became brown and white, the cyclops unleashed a salvo of the Needle Cannon. Yowling, Mega Man danced to try and avoid them, but he only succeeded in missing about half, which slammed into the wall of Froid's house behind him. The other half punctured his body at various points. Break Man grinned. "Well, it seems I've finally found something that works against you." 

"Don't count on it yet!" Mega told him. As Break Man blasted him with more, the hero dived off the plateau, and they completely missed. He poked his head over the edge and fired some of his own, but Break Man copied his tactic, diving over the other side. 

"Come out, come out, wherever you are..." Break Man slowly walked around the plateau, searching for his target. "You can't hide forever, you know..." 

"I agree!" The cheerful voice came from above, and the surprised cyclops looked up to see Mega Man back on the plateau, pointing his arm cannon down at his foe. The Needle Cannon barrage slammed Break Man to the ground. "Give up yet?" 

"Not even close." Break Man snorted derisively as he switched to the Search Snake and launched three. They slithered across the ground towards Mega. 

"Too bad for your boys I'm up here..." Mega yawned. "Guess they can't... HUH?!" The Search Snakes had somehow crawled up the sheer side of the plateau, and now chewed on his leg angrily. Cursing, the hero ripped their bodies off, but Break Man was already unleashing more. 

"What's wrong? Don't like pets?" He laughed. Mega grinned coldly. 

"Actually..." He leaped forward, over Break Man's head, and landed on the Needle Cannon shots that were stuck in the wall, which barely managed to hold him up. And put him right above Break Man's head. "I love snakes." The hero's first Search Snake went for his enemy's eye, and the second and third each attacked an arm. Howling, Break Man shook his arms to throw the tiny 'bots off. 

"That's it! No more Mr. Nice Break Man!" His colors changed to a pale blue and white, and he fired the Gemini Beam... straight ahead. Mega, still on the needles, laughed. 

"Can't see straight, Breaky boy?" However, his glee quickly changed to horror as the Beam hit the side of the plateau, then rebounded straight at him! The deadly laser knocked him off and left a scorched hole through his lower right abdomen, missing his microfusion tank by inches. "Hey! That could have killed me!" 

"I TOLD you I wasn't playing around." Break Man reminded him. "If I don't give it my all, any judgement gained from you beating me is flawed. You have to prove you can truly beat me, or you shall never surmount what is ahead. The final te-" 

"SHUT UP!" Mega screamed, enraged once again in seconds. "YOU try it!" Before Break Man could blink, the blue robot was right in his face. The first Gemini Beam punctured his right arm. The second put a hole through his left arm. Staggering back, Break Man stared at his appendages as the grim hero advanced. 

"I have had it up to HERE with your crap!" Mega Man yelled, punching Break Man in the face. "In case you hadn't noticed, there is NO meaning to this stupid duel! NONE!" He grabbed Break Man's throat and held him aloft with one hand while repeatedly smashing his face with the other. "Doc Man is DEAD! You hear me?! The Rebellion is over, and the doctors already have all the Energen Crystals!" Throwing his foe to the ground, he kicked him in the head, sending the cyclops flying. "You're the only loose end left, you red idiot! The only thing that's keeping me from my peace again is YOU! Why can't you just leave me alone, huh?! I don't know who you are, and I don't CARE!" Jumping into the air, he came down on Break Man's chest. "Just give up your stupid games, alreadyg! I'm SICK of fighting, especially with YOU!" He jumped off Break Man and turned back to face him. Slowly, the red robot sat up. 

"All right. That's enough. You've made your point... you won. I can't beat you... I can admit that." Break Man groaned. "You've got one hell of a way of making a point, too. You're ready... and I've kept you occupied long enough." 

"Occupied?" Mega's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you mean by that?" 

"You'll see for yourself soon." The cyclops told him wearily. "More soon than you know. I was speaking the truth, by the way... you'll never fight Break Man again. However, I will see you one more time... very soon. And when that happens, we'll be buddies again." He chuckled. "What can I say? I like you, kid. And I'll be helping you out. Until then..." He teleported away. Mega stared up after him. 

"...Forget it. I'm not biting. Enough of his dumb mind games... I'm going home." He teleported as well, back to Dr. Light's Lab, ready for peace again at last. 

*** 

The first thing Rock saw upon appearing in Dr. Light's lab was the last thing he had expected to see. 

"Vinkus? What are YOU doing here?" The robot asked bluntly. The politician turned around to face him, and Rock was shocked to see that his face held none of the customary arrogance and oiliness, but fear. 

"Mega Man. I never thought that I would be so sorry that I was right... that I would wish my predictions had come true." 

"What ARE you babbling about?" Rock barked. Vinkus' face twitched. 

"You should hear it from Dr. Light... he's downstairs with the others." Curiousity overcoming his anger, Rock followed Vinkus down. Sitting around the table were Dr. Light, Roll, Mr. X and Dr. Corbun. However, Dr. Wily was not there. More important to Rock, though, was the huge welt on the back of his father's head. 

"What happened?! Are you okay?" Rock ran over to the robotocist's side. Light looked up, his eyes filled with grief. 

"Rock... I'm fine. Sit down..." The robot did so, looking at the others as he did. Mr. X's face mirrored Light's, sad. Roll and Trent had sorrow on their faces as well, but stronger was anger. Roll in particular looked like one who had been greatly offended. 

"All right." Rock looked at all of them. "Now, what's going on? Where's Al, and why aren't you finishing up Gamma?" 

"A short while ago, Rock, we were." Dr. Light told him. "We had just finished putting in the last Energen Crystal, and had installed the core. We were just about to start work on the head, when... when Wily bashed me over the head with a wrench." 

"WHAT?!" Rock yelled. Roll picked up the story. 

"I was there... I turned around at the noise to see him drop to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Wily just laughed and ran towards Gamma. I tried to stop him, but the First Law kicked in. He somehow activated Gamma's teleporter, and they both vanished." 

"But... why...?" Rock mumbled. Mr. X coughed. 

"Me, Trent and Darwin arrived shortly therafter to find Gamma and Wily gone, and Roll here attempting to raise the good doctor. After we realized what had happened, we put a trace on the teleport. It led to Death Valley in America... to a Skull Fortress. I'm afraid... that the suspicions were true... Dr. Wily was behind the Rebellion after all." 

"No..." Rock muttered, eyes glazed in incomprehension. "No, Dr. Froid's treatments cured him... they-" 

_"I posed as Dr. Cedric Froid... I faked the results of the treatments to release my father... all for revenge..." Doc Man gasped as he lay there, dying. _

"Doc Man... he faked... he wasn't really..." 

"Pardon?" Trent asked. Rock ignored him, continuing his low rambling. 

"No... no, it can't be... he was cured, he was sane again, he wasn't ever gonna..." 

"ROCK, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Roll's patience snapped. "He faked it all, do you understand?! All of it! He was playing us all like flutes the whole time to get at Gamma! He's still insane, he's still trying to conquer the world, and now he has GAMMA! The whole time, Rock, he was-" 

"Wily..." Rock said slowly, his fist shaking. 

__

Rock slowly walked over to Wily, and his eyes held no hatred or disgust or battle... but apology. "Wi-no. ...Albert. Uncle Al, I'm sorry I thought you were behind the Rebellion. Can you forgive me?" Wily looked at him for a long moment, then embraced him. 

"Wily..." 

__

"Yes... my nephew." Roll sniffed; for a moment, she almost forgot that robots can't cry as she watched the final vestiges of the hatred disintegrate, and the two were finally, fully reunited. Neither Rock nor Wily moved for many moments; then, as one, they pulled apart and looked into each others' eyes. 

"Wily..." 

__

"Rock." The old doctor said, tears running down his face. "Please... Doc Man is the last remnant of my insanity left on this earth. My poor, damned, insane son... your cousin. Lay him to rest, Rock. End his suffering." 

"Wily..." 

__

"I will. I swear it." 

"Wily..." 

"Rock?" Dr. Light asked hesitantly. For a moment, Rock didn't move... then he raised his head. Everybody in the room took a step back, some of them gasped. Every single line of the robot's face was etched in hatred, and his eyes... Vinkus would later describe it like looking into the eyes of the King of Hell himself... "**_WILY..._**" 

"...God..." Vinkus choked, continuing to back off until his back was to the wall. "What... what is he..." Mega Man turned towards the stairs, and walked back up to the lab, talking without looking back. 

"Roll, dad, patch me up." Rock said emotionlessly. "As fast as possible. As soon as you're done... I'm going there. And I'm settling this once and for all." 

"What do you mean?" Vinkus yelped. "What will you do?" Rock's head swiveled to stare at him. 

"I will destroy that Skull Fortress. I will remove Gamma from the face of the earth. And I will make it so that Wily shall never betray this world... and everybody on it... again." 

*** 

On the other side of the world, in a desert known as Death Valley, in a massive fortress of steel that had taken thousands of robot slaves to build, in the very deepest section under the earth... a gigantic, multistory humanoid robot sat, nearly complete. Covered entirely with multiple thick layers of the strongest alloys known, loaded with every conceivable weapons system, able to run for an endless period without any need of recharge. It was only missing the head. Once that was completed... it would be invincible. 

"Soon, my Gamma..." Dr. Albert Wily cackled. "Soon..." 

And in the depths of the fortress, a madman laughed. 


	16. Chapter 15: Third Skull's The Charm

**__**

Chapter 15: Third Skull's The Charm 

__

"Polyphemus liked smashing things. It made a loud sound, and when he was done smashing, he had fun counting the pieces of his target. Dr. Wily had named him after the greatest of the cyclops because he was Dr. Wily's greatest creation. At least, that was what Dr. Wily had told him." Rockman, The Robot War by Maelgrim 

In the past, two Skull Fortresses had been used as the headquarters for Dr. Wily's Robot Rebellions. The first, in the Himalayan Mountains, had been the greatest, the most powerful and nightmarish. From that stronghold, Dr. Wily commanded the six stolen Lighttech Robot Masters, seizing critical points the world over in an attempt to conquer the planet. And from there, Wily and his armies of robots had slaughtered hundreds of people in a bloodbath that still stained the mountains this day. The second Skull Fortress, while less horrible than the first, was still a terror. Built in the Swiss Alps, it was Wily's headquarters during the Second Robot Rebellion, in which Wily had struck back with eight Robot Masters of his own design. 

"And now, the third..." Dr. Wily mused from the top of his castle, looking over the sand-swept desert of Death Valley. The first two had both been in the mountains, highly inaccessible, but the third Fortress was almost the opposite, in the flat, unrising desert. "I guess I just got tired of the scenery." The mad doctor snickered. The main body of Skull Fortress III contained the first two rings of defense, as well as all the power supplies in side tanks and towers. From the second ring, the looming tower of the third and fourth rings looped upward, offering only one way through, guarded by his robots. And at the top, a teleporter led to the top of the fortress where he stood now, with a single hidden elevator leading down into the underground lab where Gamma now rested. This Fortress had actually been built during the Second Robot Rebellion; lack of foresight was not a weakness of Wily's, and in both Rebellions he had made sure to have another fortress to fall back on. The only hard part was when he created a wonderful, deadly new Fortress Guardian; he hated having to choose between keeping it and seeing its bloody power right away, or storing it away in case of emergencies. Still, the Second Rebellion had given him Guardians to spare; he had used four different Guardians in that Fortress, and still kept the powerful KG-5, ME-MO and HR-3 for his Third Fortress. That was fortunate, as it turned out, with Gamma, he had had little time to work on such matters. 

"Aside from my little surprise, that is..." Wily laughed. "Or maybe BIG surprise is better. Oh, to see the look on Mega Man's face when he sees who's come back for another fight." Together, those four Guardians had a very good chance of ending the little blue demon's life. Plus, just to be on the safe side, he had picked up one of each of Sennet's Robot Masters as well. And if even those failed, there was always his latest Wilymachine. 

"This is it... this time, I can't lose!" The mad doctor gloated to himself. "For once, I don't even need to kill him... all I have to do is hold him off until Gamma is completed! And then... the planet shall tremble in my grasp!" Wily frowned; the only missing piece in his plan was that dratted red robot. Where had he gone, and what was he doing? He had done well, distracting and stalling Mega Man while his master had claimed Gamma, but as soon as he was repaired, he had disappeared. 

"Perhaps his loyalty is not so certain..." Wily said slowly. "He assured me that his seeming friendship with Mega Man was simply subterfuge, setting him up for the final duel while still furthering my goals... but can I trust his word on that? He IS still a robot, like any other, and he has his own free will... like Mega Man, and Roll, and..." The mad doctor scowled. "Doc Man..." THAT had been the final nail in the coffin for Dr. Wily. His own son had turned against him, tried to murder HIM, his creator! Proof that no Robot Master could be allowed to exist. His own greatest creation had turned on him, and had been destroyed for his crimes. The fact that it was Mega Man who had killed the insane robot did not register on Wily's scarred brain; he simply saw it as divine evidence that Robot Masters were a threat to humanity, and needed to be eliminated. And the only way to do THAT... was to conquer the world, and rule it by dictatorship, since the fools who were in charge now could not see the threat. Images, words and sounds twisted and turned through Dr. Wily's mind. Yes, that had been the goal he had started with... but now, years later, his brain further warped by continued teleporter usage, those goals melted away like dust on the wind, and Wily only knew that he had to rule the world. It had been very difficult for him to pretend that he was his old self again; his old, foolish self, not seeing the dangers of robotics. But it had been neccessary. And thus, Wily had done it. 

"What was I thinking about?" The old doctor frowned. "Oh yes, him... that red renegade, and his potential treachery... Well, no matter! If he betrays me, then he shall perish at Gamma's fists, just like all others who oppose me!"Wily laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed, until all of Death Valley echoed with his peals of insane humor. 

And in the darkest levels of the fortress, Gamma waited. 

*** 

"Okay, Rock. You're all fixed up now." Dr. Light told his son as he and Dr. Corbun set down their tools. Nearby, Roll and Mr. X were finishing up getting Rush ready. In a corner of the lab, Vinkus was huddled, muttering to himself. Mega Man sat up, face stony; he hadn't spoken a word since coming upstairs. 

"Internal Operations Energy... 100%." Dr. Corbun read off a scanner. "Magnet Missile Energy, 100%. Shadow Blade Energy, 100%. Spark... aw, hell with it; All Weapons Energy, 100%. You're good to go, Rock." 

"Mega Man." The blue robot corrected him shortly. Dr. Corbun raised an eyebrow. 

"Eh?" 

"Rock is a pacifist, and Dr. Light's lab assistant. Mega Man is the hero who stops all the Robot Rebellions." Mega explained without looking at him. "I cannot be Rock now. I must be Mega Man." He glanced at Vinkus. "What's with him?" 

"He wanted to look at Gamma's blueprints again." Dr. Light told him. "We probably shouldn't have let him, but we did. Ever since, he's been like that, saying 'We're all gonna die' over and over." 

"Aah." Mega nodded. "Yeah, I figured he'd probably be something like that." 

"And he might be right, you know." Roll looked up. "Before, Rock's attacks weren't completely neccessary; there were always drastic measures, even if he failed. If Rock loses on this run, though... if he dies... that's it. Wily wins. Game over. We really screwed up this time, dad." 

"The girl's right." Corbun growled glumly. "I've taken a look at those designs too, and while my reaction wasn't quite as strong as Vinkus', it came close. If you built that thing exactly right..." 

"We did." Dr. Light sadly assured him. 

"Then no force on earth will be able to stop it once completed." Corbun lowered his head. "Lord, Tom... if Wily finishes Gamma, he can conquer the world in less than a year! That armor can take anything short of a nuclear explosion without a scratch, and with that teleporter, he can dodge any nuke! It's completely unstoppable! What were you THINKING?!" The british doctor raged suddenly, grabbing Dr. Light by the front of his labcoat. "What the hell were you thinking when you designed this thing? I'm all for robotics, but THIS kind of power... you've given mankind the ability to destroy the world once again, Tom." He sunk back in a chair. "You're the next Einstein... and you've created the next Atomic Bomb." 

"I know..." Dr. Light looked for a moment as if he were actually going to cry. "It's my fault... I trusted him, and I thought we could stop the Rebellions with this... I see now that Gamma should never have existed in the first place. Evil fought with evil can never end in good... and I have unleashed an evil greater than the world has ever known. I am become death... the destroyer of worlds." 

"Enough." Mega said icily. "It's not just you, dad. He fooled all of us. The whole time, ever since he was released, he was manipulating us. You never would have made Gamma on your own... he encouraged you on and steered your thought away from the negatives. And he spent the rest of his time trying to win Roll and me over..." The blue robot's fists shook with rage. 

"Rush is at 100% energy... he's good to go." Mr. X announced. The red robotic dog hopped down from the table and ran to Mega's side, not barking or making any noise. He was affected by the dark mood as much as any of them. Even little Eddie stood quietly near the door, motionless. 

'Then I'd better be off." Mega told his family and friends. "Wily won't be able to complete the head as fast as he would if dad was still helping him. That's our only advantage, but I'm still on tight time. Two hours at the fastest. If I don't stop him by then... there's a pretty good chance you'll all be living in Wilytropolis before the snow flies." 

"So you'll stop him again..." Roll muttered. "Throw him back in jail?" 

"I don't know." 

"..." Everybody in the room stared at Mega Man after that pronouncement. Finally, Vinkus spoke, face completely white. 

"What... did you say?' The politician whispered, disbelieving. 

"I said I don't know." 

"What do you mean you don't know?" Roll asked him. 

"I mean just that... I don't know." Mega refused to look at them. "All of it, sis. The whole thing was complete fakery. All that pretending to be sane again... the working for the benefit of society... the reconciliation with... his family... with us... it was fake. He was just using us to get his newest death machine built... even the Rebellion was just an annoyance to him. He was only cheering for me because I was bringing him those damned Energen Crystals." Mega was speaking through gritted teeth now. "My killing Doc Man was just removal of a rival to him. He didn't care how many people died, or how many WILL die at Gamma's hands. He's just a monster, a heartless beast, and he'll never change. He's forever damned, and we were the fools who trusted the devil. He's probably laughing his insane ass off right now thinking of how gullible we were." 

_"Rock." The old doctor said, tears running down his face. "Please... Doc Man is the last remnant of my insanity left on this earth. My poor, damned, insane son... your cousin. Lay him to rest, Rock. End his suffering."_

"It was all faked..." Mega repeated, his eyes closed. "All of it... all fake... damn him..." 

"But... then, won't he WANT you to come to him?" Mr. X asked hesitantly. "So he can... can..." 

"Can kill me? Yes, I suppose that is what he wants." Mega clenched his fists. "He wanted me to survive the Rebellion... so that he could kill me with Gamma. And he's had that succeed so far. But I've taken down his Skull Fortresses twice before... this time will be no different." 

"And what will you do once you've reached him?" Corbun pressed. "The First Law states you cannot harm a human being. And despite his madness, Wily is still be definition human." 

"I know." Rock agreed. "I can't hurt him... but I HAVE to stop him. This can't go on. If we let him, he'll just keep going and going, killing and destroying endlessly. I have to stop that... no matter what..." He frowned in anger again. "And then I think I'll find Break Man and kick him off a cliff somewhere. That guy is REALLY irritating me, especially now that I'm pretty sure that stupid duel of his was meant to delay me. If he's a Wilybot, I'm going to strangle him with that stupid scarf of his. But for now... Wily comes first. I'm off... wish me luck. This time I WILL need it. I'll see you again soon, I hope..." He teleported away with Rush in streaks of blue and red, off to the final battle once more, with the foe he had thought was a friend and his father's greatest invention. Dr. Albert Wily... and Gamma, the ultimate fighting machine. 

*** 

Death Valley was one of the most deadly deserts in the world. Aside from the intense heat at day and equally intense cold at night, there were sandstorms, scorpions, rattlesnakes, and many other dangers. However, none of those even came close to comparing to Death Valley's newest threat; the gigantic Skull Fortress III, fronted as always by the massive titanium skull shield. From about half a mile away, on a high dune, a red-and-grey robot stood gazing out at the fortress with his single eye, arms crossed and yellow scarf blowing in the wind. 

_Looks like the US Army hasn't had time to organize an attack yet;_ Break Man thought to himself. _Which is a good thing; they'd just get themselves killed. The robotic armies in there are just too much, too strong... I should know. I helped with them. Like the last two times, numbers just simply can't topple this thing. No, it's all down to one... or two... robots._ He heard the familiar sound of somebody teleporting in behind him, and whistled his tune. 

"Break Man." Mega Man muttered as he walked over. For several moments, neither of them spoke; they just remained there, side-by-side, looking at Skull Fortress. "It's even more of an eyesore than the first two." Mega finally grunted. "Of course, it's also not way up high in the mountains, so I suppose he has to lose a few ostentation points there. What are you doing here, anyways?" 

"What are YOU doing here?" Break Man countered. "Sightseeing? I really wouldn't recommend this as a vacation spot. The climate is horrible, and the staff... well, let's just say they're homicidal, shall we? Not a five-star resort by any means." 

"Do you have to joke about everything?" The blue robot looked at his rival sourly. 

"It keeps me from going crazy." Break Man sighed and pointed at Skull Fortress. "But enough joking. What are your plans concerning that?" 

"I'm going to destroy that thing." Mega said firmly. "And then... I'll deal with Wily." 

"You're going to charge in there, arm cannon blazing?" Break Man shook his head. "Won't work. Most of the Fortress's interior defenses are concentrated on the main path, and believe me, there's a LOT of them. Too many. Frankly, you'd be committing suicide. You'd never even make it through the First Ring." 

"Well, what do YOU suggest, then?" Mega snapped. Break Man pointed to the ground on the right side of the Fortress. 

"Over there. See those tanks and towers? They control the power for Skull Fortress, and they connect to the Second Ring of this fortress, up on the upper portion of that skull-surmounted main body. You remember how we got into Gemini Man's complex? The waterway. Well, you can do so again. There's an opening down there. The bad news is, Wily's a lot smarter then Gemini Man was. That waterway is always running, and going in there would get you swept away to some grinders he set up in the pipe. The only time it stops is for ten minutes every day, for cleaner robots to get rid of any large debris that fell in." 

"So much for your plan." Mega growled. Break Man held up his index finger reprovingly. 

"I didn't tell you the good news yet. The good news is I know the schedule for when it stops. And as a matter of fact, it's scheduled to stop exactly fifteen minutes from now. If you're there at that time, you can drop in there and work your way up the pipe instead of down it. If you're fast enough, you should be able to get into the Fortress itself within ten minutes, skipping the First Ring entirely." 

"All right." Mega nodded. "I'll do it that way, then. Are you coming along?" 

"Nope. I'll be going in the front way." Break Man told him. "The main attack is yours, but I can do a pretty good distraction. I'll raise hell in the First Ring and divert as much security as I can so you can get by easier, since you won't be setting foot in there." Mega frowned. 

"But you said-" 

"I said it'd be suicide for YOU." Break Man reminded him. "But I have certain... advantages that you don't. Just trust me, okay? I'm on your side, that last fight notwithstanding. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about that. There wasn't anything I could do... and I had to see certain things for myself, with my own eye. That won't happen again, I assure you. I'm a good guy now." 

"Whatever." Mega rolled his eyes. "I'll trust you, seeing as I don't have much choice and you are a pretty decent guy. But when we're done, I don't want you running off again. You're going to tell me everything; who you are, what you want, and all that. No more mysteries. I'd pin you to the ground until you blabbed right now if we didn't have more important things to worry about." 

"Don't worry." Break Man assured him. "I told you I'd reveal everything when this was all over. And as you can see... it's not over yet. The waterway will be stopping in thirteen minutes now. Let's go." It took them five minutes to get to Skull Fortress. As they neared it, Mega saw the many robot guards around. 

"Now what?" 

"This is where I come in." Break Man explained. "They won't attack me. I'll go in there. You move around to as close to the right side as you can get without the guards seeing you, then watch the front door. As soon as you see it explode, start counting to sixty, and run towards the waterway opening once the guards around it are gone. As soon as you get to sixty, jump in; you won't have any time to waste." Break Man started to walk away, then stopped and turned. "One more thing. There WILL be some robots in there; Wily's paranoid, so he always has his cleaning robot accompanied by guards. Particularly, at the end where the water pipe connects to the Second Ring, he's set up a nasty new Fortress Guardian just in case. Be careful of it." He moved away again, then turned back. "One more thing." He hit Mega Man on the head with his index and middle finger. "That was for beating the crap out of me." He walked forward. Mega stared after him for a moment, then sighed. 

"He never changes..." Muttering to himself, the blue robot walked around the patrolled perimeter until he was near the right side, and waited. A few minutes later, without any sort of warning, the front door was engulfed in a massive explosion. Almost all of the guards immediately moved towards it, and Mega ran towards the Fortress, climbing over the steel bunkers and easily destroying the few guards that remained. "Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen..." Reaching the fortress, he looked around for any kind of opening in the ground. None were visible. "Crap. Thirty-two, thirty-three..." A gleam of metal caught his eye, and he saw a corner of a metal plate that had been covered in sand. Brushing it off, he lifted the plate. "Forty-four, forty-five... eh?" Something else was buried in the sand. Digging it up, Mega discovered it was an E-Tank, which he quickly pocketed. "Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty! Here goes nothing!" Closing his eyes, the hero jumped in, half expecting that he'd be a few seconds too early, and be caught in the tides. He heard the rushing of water, and felt himself slide into its wet embrace. _Damn, this is it. I'm dead!_ His feet touched the floor. _Huh?_ He opened his eyes to find himself standing in the pipe. The rushing water was behind him; he had missed it by seconds, and was standing under still water that had been left behind. "Geez, he's got good timing..." 

*** 

"Greetings, Break Man. Robot designated as second-in-command. What is your purpose here?" The guard robot at the front asked mechanically. Break Man moved on without stopping. 

"Mega Man is here. Be ready for attack." 

"Undestood." The guard robot beeped. "Orders confirmed. We shall be on extra-sensitive watch, and patrol the front entrance." 

"Good, good." The red robot entered the Skull Fortress and closed the door behind him, then turned to a computer screen. Once in the Fortress's systems, he commanded a squad of Walking Bombs to come down to the room. While waiting, he brought up the schedule for the waterway cleaning. "Ah, good. I was right." Counting in his head, he watched the squad come in, then switched his weapons to the Hard Knuckle and went into the next room, still counting. At three hundred, he fired a single shot back at the squad and ran like hell. The explosion rattled the entire fortress. Laughing silently, he moved over to a wall and pushed in a part of it, revealng a secret intercomm. Before using it, he judiciously tampered with the wires. 

"Doc! It's me!" 

"What's going on, B----?" Dr. Wily's startled answer was partially static, thanks to Break Man's modifications. "What wa----- explosion?" 

"It's Mega Man! He's attacking! Wiped out the entire lobby!" Break Man responded, knowing the damage to the connection went both ways. He fiddled with the witing some more, smirking in spite of the situation. 

"Me---an?! Damn! Gamm-------nished yet!" The Doctor yelled staticly. "And the con-----on's bad too!" 

"You got that right! I can barely understand you!" Break Man smiled. 

"Well, don't ju-----and there, do something! But don-----the guards off their posts! Use onl------es in the First Ri--!" 

"Sorry, can't hear you!" Break Man responded, jiggling the wires some more. "Connection's getting worse! You just finish up on Gamma; I'll call down robots from the Second and Third Rings to help! We'll squish him GOOD, boss! Don't you worry one minute!" 

"No, B----! Wait----!" The transmission died as Break Man ripped the wiring completely out of the wall. "There we go. Now, then." Accessing another computer, he began changing the patrol functions of the robot guards. "He'll be too busy trying to finish up that monstrosity to correct these... heh heh heh. He'll be absolutely infuriated, of course, but those 'technical difficulties' will make him think it was just a brainless accident on my part. He'll never suspect what I'm really up to. Let's just hope Mega Man's up to what robots remain..." He worked in silence for several minutes after that, until a good two thirds of the guards had all been commanded to come down to the main path through the First Ring. The patrols of the other third had been hardwired into them and couldn't be changed. Break Man nodded, pleased with himself, as he looked around the guard reports a little more. "That's the best I can do on diverting security... the rest will have to be dealt with the old-fashioned way. Hmm, wait, what's this?" He frowned, looking at more information as he scrolled down the screen. "A new Fortress Guardian for the Second Ring? Replacing that huge cannon, is he...? What is..." His eye widened. "Oh. Oooh. Oh crap. Oh CRAP. All right, change of plans. I've got to tell him about this..." He jumped out of his chair and took off down the halls of the Fortress. 

*** 

"Rush!" Mega Man called his faithful dog, who teleported in and changed into Marine mode. Hopping into the seat, the hero took off through the water, blasting small penguin bombs in his way. A few minutes later, the pipe turned vertical, up out of the water. Patting Rush on the head, Mega jumped out of the water and climbed the waiting ladder up the waterway. After a few minutes, he noticed a section of the wall seemed to be different than the others; it was bright green, and seemed to be made of a much sturdier metal. 

"This bears looking into." Switching to the Hard Knuckle, he fired off an explosive shot that destroyed the green section, revealing a hidden passageway. "I know I'm on a tight time limit... but I gotta check this out." The room seemed to have nothing in it at first; however, closer inspection showed Mega a second tough green wall above the way he had come in. Destroying it netted him another E-Tank, which he took before resuming his journey up the water pipe. At the end of the vertical section, the hero climbed up on top of the ladder and was promptly smashed in the chest by a heavy shotput, courtesy of the Hammer Joe on the other side of the bed of spikes nearby. Mega looked for a means of getting across, and saw some hanging platforms overhead with low passageways at their far ends. Jumping up, he slid through and landed right in front of the Hammer Joe. 

"Hi." Mega snarled. The surprised robot's eye widened for a moment before he sliced it in half with his Shadow Blade and walked forward. Two more Hammer Joes were beyond the first, and they posed no problem. The fourth, however, was on top of a very high wall; too high for him to jump, and in a position that made hitting it with his arm cannon impossible from below. He could use Rush to get up, of course, but it would just knock him back down right away. "I need to take it out before getting up there..." Mega thought. "What weapon could do that?" His mind wandered back to the last duel with Break Man, and he smiled as he activated the Gemini Beam, firing it at a low wall that faced the Joe. The laser hit the wall and rebounded, going diagonally upward towards the foe. And over its head. Mega groaned. Then the laser hit the ceiling and changed again, hitting the wall behind the Joe, and turning straight into its back. Grinning, Mega jumped onto the wall with Rush's aid and continued up as the pipe went vertical again. He found a solid floor of spikes awaiting him. "Dammit." A familiar, hated hum preceded the arrival of the "disappearing blocks" that Wily had used every time, and that Doc Man had copied for use in the french Mine. This time, though, the formation was fairly easy, and Mega made it across with little difficulty. One more ladder up and he found himself facing a metal shutter. "The end of the water pipe..." A ledge above held a pair of large weapons energy capsules that he used to refill his Hard Knuckle and Gemini Beam. "There... now all I have to do is get rid of this Guardian and get out before..." 

"_Warning. One minute until waterway reactivates. All guard robots, exit waterway immediately."_ The alarm blared. Mega's face paled. 

"Crud! One minute?! I gotta move!" Jumping off the ledge, he ran through the shutter to the familiar small hall before another shutter. As he ran across, though, he suddenly fell through a hole in the middle of the floor that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "ARGH!" The blue hero landed in an enclosed room full of water. The walls and floor were all covered with high-powered water jets. A hum from above drew his eyes to a robot that hovered over the water's surface. It was basically spherical with a single green eye. It hung from a thick wire that stretched across the room's top, and the bottom of the machine was a large hole with a pair of claws. 

"Fortress Guardian KG-5 activating." The machine said mechanically. 

"This must be that fortress guardian Break Man was talking about..." Mega glared. "Get out of my way!" The blue hero fired his arm cannon, and the plasma bullets just bounced off. "Damn... it's made out of plasma-deflective metals!" _Search Snake's no good; won't be able to hit it easily. Same with the Hard Knuckle; it's slow enough already, and the water would make it like lead._ Mega tried the Gemini Beam, but it was just as ineffective. As he changed to the Needle Cannon, something emerged from the hole in the bottom, coming through the claws. It was a mechanical sea turtle. _Looks like it deploys those things to do its fighting for it... but I can't waste time fighting them!_ Unfortunately, the Needle Cannon was also ineffective against the machine. Cursing violently, Mega dodged the turtle's attempt to slam into him and turned to the Magnet Missile. However, instead of moving towards the machine, the missile shifted its course to hit the turtle. 

"OY! Try again!" Mega yelled, firing another... which also went for the turtle. _Talking to your missiles. I wonder if that's a sign of panic. Probably._ He fired a third, and like the others, it hit the turtle, destroying it. As Mega gave up and switched his weapon to the Spark Shot, he noticed something; the machine at the top had violently lurched to the side, as if it had somehow been hurt. A moment later, it recovered and launched another turtle. 

"Wait a second..." Mega realized. _That thing hasn't displayed any sort of attack by itself... it's just launching those turtles. Doesn't seem intelligent, either... and there wouldn't be much room in there for anything except its buddies. _On a hunch, he fired a Spark Shot. The electric blast froze the turtle, stunning it, and Mega was able to destroy it with his arm cannon. The dispenser lurched again, eye flashing. _It's a decoy! The machine's not the Fortress Guardian... the turtles are! It's just for deploying them; that's why it's so thickly armored! The dispenser takes damage whenever they're destroyed, and when it runs out of turtles... boom. _Mega grinned as a third emerged. 

"I feel like turtle soup, suddenly... WHOA!" One of the water jets had suddenly sprung into action, launching him upwards and smack into the dispenser. The blue hero's head made a nasty thump as it smashed into the turtle maker. "Oog... I'll have to be careful." As he dropped, he evaded another jet from the side, and stunned the swimming turtle with a Spark Shock before wasting it. The machine began shaking violently as it put a fourth turtle into the water. As he prepared to deal with it in the same way, Mega was caught by surprise when a water jet hit him in the back, pushing him forward into the fast-moving turtle. The collision was equivalent to being hit by a motorcycle at 75 MPH. As Mega fell back, the turtle suddenly discarded its armored shell, revealing a skeletal frame. However, this also doubled its speed. Mega tried to peg it with a Spark Shot, but the turtle dodged easily and rammed him. Desperate, the hero switched to the only weapon left (aside from the Top Spin, which didn't really count). The Shadow Blade. He threw the ninja star, praying that it would hit... and the turtle swerved right into it. The thin, skeletal frame was no match for the deadly blade, and it fell apart in pieces. The dispenser machine groaned and sagged on its wire, and the green eye flickered. 

"Phew... how much time do I have left?" Mega wondered. 

"_Warning. Ten seconds until waterway reopens."_ A speaker in the upper corner of the room announced. Mega turned white. 

"Ten seconds... I'll never make it!" He looked up at the machine as a fifth turtle began to emerge. "How many are left? If this is the last one... but I'll only have time for one hit!" The Shadow Blade had destroyed the previous one instantly, but it had dropped its armor, and Mega couldn't wait for this one to do the same. If the Shadow Blade didn't fatally pierce the shell of the turtle robot... he was dead. The turtle emerged, and Mega sent off a prayer as he formed the Blade and threw. The ninja star whistled through the water, barely missing a water jet that could have been fatal, and impacted with the turtle. It did not emerge from the other side. Mega groaned. 

With a horrendous creak, the two halves of the turtle parted; at the exact same time, the dispenser exploded, its remains falling off the wire into the water. 

"YES!" 

_"Five seconds until waterway reopens." _

"No..." Mega groaned again. He called in Rush and launched himself off the spring in the dog's back, bursting out of the water. 

__

"Four..." 

"Rush, get outta here!" Mega yelled as he grabbed the edge of the above pipe. Rush barked once and complied. 

"_Three..."_

"Come on..." Mega hauled himself up and ran towards the metal shutter in front of him. 

_"Two..."_

The shutter parted and Mega ran through. A ladder in front of him led up through a hole in the top of the pipe. He clambered up desperately. 

_"One..._" 

Mega reached the top of the ladder and launched himself out. 

_"Waterway reactivated."_ The rush of water from just below him blocked off all other sound. Mega shuddered; involuntarily, he suffered a mental image of a small, blue body being smashed to bits by the roaring tide. 

"WAY too close..." 

*** 

"Hey, Joe." Break Man called as he ran past a Sniper Joe, who was standing in the middle of a hall in the First Ring. "How ya doing?' The robot didn't respond. "Okay. See ya!" The red robot continued down the hall, greeting each of the silent guards as he ran by. "Hey, Harry. Nice haircut. B.K., my man! I like the new paint job! Wazzup, Pete? Keep an eye out for intruders, you hear?" Break Man snickered, thinking of what Mega Man would say if he saw this. 

"_Why are you talking to low-intelligence automations? They can't talk back; all you're doing is confusing them and wasting time!" _

"That blue boy's too serious." Break Man told himself as he continued on. "Doesn't he know how to have fun with his work? I'll admit his profession isn't the most entertaining, but still. That's no reason to be all gloom and doom. Oops, I'd better shut up before some security thing hears me..." He paused outside a metal shutter. "Ah, the end of the First Ring... I wonder if-" 

"_Waterway reactivated."_ The message was announced on every speaker in the Fortress. Break Man nodded. 

"Well, that's that then... either he's in the Second Ring, or he's dead. Until I know which, though, I'd better keep moving..." He entered the battle chamber, where the giant Fortress Guardian rested, waiting for an intruder; a huge, purple moth robot. Break Man waved to it as he passed. 

"Hey, Mothman. How's it hanging?" He began to walk away without waiting for a response. 

"YOU ABSOLUTE, TOTAL IMBECILE!!!" The Guardian shrieked. 

"YAAAAAAHH!!!" Break Man jumped as if he had been bitten on the rear. As he landed, he turned to stare at the supposedly incapable-of-speech Guardian. "What the HELL?!" 

"MEGA MAN NEVER CAME THROUGH THE FIRST RING, DOLT!" The Guardian raged. "HE SNUCK IN THROUGH THE WATERWAY!" Break Man blinked in sudden comprehension. 

"Doc? Is that you?" 

"Of course it's me!" The speaker on the moth snapped. "Who else would it be?!" 

"Doc Man, James Walken, Darwin Vinkus, Elvis..." 

"Shut up!" Wily yelled. "Somehow, Mega got into the waterway during the cleaning stoppage! How did he know when to do it?!" Break Man thought fast. 

"That explosion at the front was just a ruse... or was it?" He said slowly. "It was intended to make us think he would be coming through the First Ring... but... hold on a moment." He moved over to a wall and pressed the panel that revealed the hidden access computer. 

"What are you doing?" Wily asked impatiently as the red robot opened up Skull Fortress's systems. 

"Checking a hunch... AHA!" Break Man jumped up. "The system was hacked into just a few minutes before the cleaning stoppage! Mega Man must have sneaked in and hacked the system to discover the time, then set that explosion!" 

"Damn!" Wily cursed. "We've underestimated him again!" 

"The waterway's reactivated now, though." Break Man reassured the doctor. "He might have been still down there... did he make it out?" 

"Hold on, I'll check..." The moth was silent for a moment before erupting angrily again. "Yes, he did! He crawled out less than a second before it turned back on! Just a second more, and he would have finally been gone! Argh!" 

"Well, he's still got the Second, Third and Fourth Rings to get through, Doc." Break Man reminded him. 

"The Rings that you redirected most of the security from to the First Ring, you mean?" Dr. Wily said scathingly. "The First Ring, which he never even came through? FOOL!" Break Man hung his head. 

"Aw, crap... I'm sorry, Doc. I screwed up big time." 

"Obviously." 

"It ain't over yet, though..." Break Man looked back up. "I can still catch him. And when I do, I'll make him wish he'd never been created." 

"And how, may I ask, do you plan to do that?" Wily said, sounding amused. "He's beaten you every time you've fought before! What makes you think it'll be any different this time?" 

"Superior tactics, Doc." Break Man smiled confidently. "You forget, there's somebody else wanting to fight him in the Second Ring. Your little surprise returning fighter. I won't attack Mega head on... I'll wait until he goes up against Big P, then ambush him. Both of us have lost to Mega before, but together? That blue twerp won't stand a chance." 

"You have a point..." Wily admitted grudgingly. "Very well. Carry out your plan. And whatever you do, do not allow him to get past! Gamma is our top priority!" 

"All right." Break Man nodded. "Speaking of which, how close are you to being done?" 

"It's almost ready; most of the head's completed. It should only be half an hour to forty-five minutes or so. If you can't kill him, at least keep him away until then!" 

"Gotcha." Break Man saulted. "I won't let you down!" The moth didn't respond; Dr. Wily had returned to his work. Break Man turned his back on it and ran on into the Second Ring. 

_Half a hour to forty-five minutes... that's not good. And neither is Big P... I've got to catch up to Mega Man before he gets to the end of the Ring. _

*** 

"Freakin' breakin' platforms..." Mega Man muttered as he climbed a ladder up a vertical shaft in the Second Ring of Skull Fortress. He had just spent a few minutes being entertained by a series of platforms that broke in two the moment he stepped on them, then rejoined as soon as they had dumped him off. Eventually, though, he had made it and climbed upward, picking up a couple large Weapons Energy pods that refueled his Shadow Blade and Magnet Missile. Coming to the top of the ladder, the blue hero climbed up to find the only way forward was a low passageway that he would have to slide into. He shrugged and did so, realizing too late that the tunnel was floored with the beartrap-like Wanaans he had dodged in Chile. Fortunately, he was too fast, and emerged on the other side without a bite. Unfortunately, what lay ahead of him promised that that wouldn't last. 

"Shit..." Mega muttered. If he had had any lingering doubts about Wily's sanity, they were banished; the path ahead of him could only be produced by an insane mind. The floor of the hall was covered in spikes; the only way across was leapfrogging across Wanaan grates. And to add the final touch of lunacy, giant hive-bomber Have Sue Bees were also flying around, waiting to drop their cargo of Chibee drones. Mega looked for another way across. There were none, not even the Rush Jet; too close-quartered to maneuver well. With a reluctant sigh, Mega changed his weapon to the Needle Cannon. 

"Well, if he's going to make this so much like Hard Man's mine... I might as well use Hard Man's style of fighting! YAAAAA!" Bellowing, Mega charged forward, blowing a Have Sue Bee out of the sky before it even saw him. Landing on a Wanaan, the hero jumped forward onto another instantly, and then to another. A Have Sue Bee dropped its hive, releasing five Chibees; Mega destroyed them all with a salvo in midjump, then killed the bomber. The slight distraction caused him to stumble a bit and remain on the next Wanaan longer than he should; as the jaws came up, though, Mega pointed the Needle Cannon downward and fired between the grating, obliterating the trap. Not even pausing for a moment, he jumped forward across a pair of Wanaans straight at another Have Sue Bee, which he stomped and leaped onto good land at last. As an afterthought, he turned and killed the Chibee payload from his stepping-stone. It was only several silent moments later that he realized what he had just done. 

"...That was kinda fun, actually." Mega admitted as he picked up a large weapons energy pod to refill the Needle Cannon. "There's a kind of direct charm to just charging ahead full blast, isn't there... I'd better not tell Break Man, though. That kind of Rambo approach goes against everything he stands for. Now, what's next... oh." The final stretch of the second ring was straight spikes; no way across whatsoever. Mega just smiled; it was also wide open, with very little in the way. "In the last two Rebellions, this would have defeated me... but I didn't have Rush then." The loyal dog teleported in and went into jet mode. Mega hopped on his back and they took off. There were more Have Sue Bees, of course, but they were no match for Mega's arm cannon and Rush's maneuvering. They even managed to pick up two E-Tanks. Before long, they reached the far side, where another metal shutter was waiting for them. Mega dismissed Rush, then walked in. 

"Huh..." The dark, square room was completely empty. There was nothing in there except the door to the Third Ring, on the far side. "This is wierd. But... have I seen it before?" He suddenly realized what was happening in a flash, and dove to the side just in time to save his life. A stone cube as big as his head whistled by, missing his cranium by mere inches. It was not alone, though; immediately after it, more followed, departing from where they were wedged up against the wall Mega had come in through. The blue robot jumped, slid and dodged. 

"No way... no way..." He muttered. "This is impossible..." As the last block slid into place, Mega turned and faced what they had become; a fifteen-foot high yellow giant, composed of metal and stone. Its single, prominent eye glared at the hero. "I destroyed you!" 

_"...Recently, the UN excavated the remains of my Skull Fortresses. Underneath the first was a secret, underground room not even I had knew of, with signs of use by at least one robot." _

"Wily..." Mega growled in comprehension. "Another one of your tricks! That wasn't a UN excavation... you did it to get THIS!" Polyphemus, the Yellow Devil, just blinked, releasing a plasma bullet. Mega jumped and responded in kind, nailing his foe right in the eye, which he knew was its sole weak point. The rest was completely unattackable; he had to hit its core. After several moments of trading shots, the Yellow Devil groaned and shifted back into the blocks of stone before flying across the room again in the familiar old pattern. Mega dodged most of them; however, near the end, he slid under a block and rose again just before another smashed him in the chest, knocking the hero back down. Mega jumped back to his feet just as the cyclops resumed its plasma assault, and switched his weapons. 

"Let's see if you still have your old weakness!" The orange-and-white robot yelled as he fired a Spark Shot at his foe. The first time they had fought, Mega's Elec Beam had spelled the Yellow Devil's downfall. Now, the Spark Shot flew straight and true... and dissipated harmlessly against the giant's eye. Mega cursed; apparently, Wily had made sure it was insulated this time. Returning to his arm cannon, Mega was able to get only one shot in before the Yellow Devil dissolved once more. This time, though, it took Mega by surprise; instead of using the same attack, the blocks formed into long strings that bounced towards him like rubber balls. The startled hero slid under the first and second, but the third string caught him, smashing into his back multiple times. Screaming, he rolled to the side and avoided the last two lines. The giant reformed again nearby, and Mega remembered with horror why he had to stay away from it. He flung himself forward as the Yellow Devil's massive fists smashed into the ground where Mega had been a moment before. 

"Have to keep out of range..." The hero reminded himself. Then he screamed as several plasma bullets slammed into his back. Draining an E-Tank, Mega got up, then looked at the door in surprise as it opened, and he heard a familiar whistle. 

"Mega Man!" Break Man sneered. "This time you're dead! You can't beat both of us!" 

"WHAT?" Mega Man yelled. 

"Play along." The red robot whispered. "Wily's watching us, so we gotta pretend to be fighting. I can't blow my cover. Whoops, incoming!" Mega whirled around; while he had been talking, the Yellow Devil had split apart again. Now, it came at him in a third pattern; the blocks started whirling around the room in a chaotic vortex. "Mwa ha ha! You can't dodge this, Mega Man! Prepare to die!" 

"I don't think so..." Mega Man smiled as he turned to his rival. Break Man frowned. 

"What are you-"His words broke off in a grunt as Mega tackled his legs, sending the red robot falling on top of the hero. A moment later, the swarm of blocks moved over them; the large shield on Break Man's back defended them both. As the Yellow Devil reformed, Mega threw Break Man off and stood back up. 

"Nice one..." The red robot muttered, also rising as he turned dark blue and grey. "You think you're funny, pitting us against each other? Have a knuckle sandwich!" Break Man fired a Hard Knuckle straight at Mega's head. He dodged, and the explosive continued on... straight into the Yellow Devil's eye. The concussion cracked the stone around it, and the monster screamed. Mega smiled. 

"So that's its weakness..." 

"D'GOH!" Break Man yelled loudly. Mega snickered and changed to the Hard Knuckle himself, firing several at his giant foe's eye. Desperate, the Yellow Devil tried bouncing across the room again, but Mega simply jumped off the startled Break Man's head to clear them. Break Man himself just stood still; the path of the bouncing took the stones over him when the giant reformed, Mega was ready with more Hard Knuckles. The Yellow Devil screamed again, chunks of rock being blown off. The giant fragmented again, and at first it looked like he was launching into his oldest attack pattern. Mega jumped, slid and dodged... and heard Break Man laugh. He began to turn, and a rock smashed him in the side. They weren't forming on the other side; they were arcing back around like boomerangs! Another chunk flew at Mega's head, and the blue robot ducked to avoid it before throwing himself to the side out of another's path. When the last rock reattached, the eye opened again... to behold its last sight. Mega Man, firing one last Hard Knuckle straight into the crystal eye, point-blank. The Yellow Devil's scream of pain died down into a low sigh as the eye exploded and the monster slid apart into pieces of rock. 

"Now, for the other one of the cyclops brothers!" Mega quipped as he turned to Break Man, who choked. 

"What?" 

"I said..." 

"Yeah. Just, nevermind. YARGH!" Without warning, the red robot tackled Mega, knocking him to the floor. They rolled around for several minutes, beating each other with their fists. 

"Listen." Break Man whispered. "In a moment, I'm going to jump up. When I do, I want you to fire at my head. Don't ask questions, just do it! Understand?" 

"Yeah..." Mega muttered. 

"Good." The red robot leaped away, and Mega rose. The moment Break Man landed, Mega shot a Hard Knuckle at his opponent's head. Break Man dodged as easily as Mega had avoided the first one to hit the Yellow Devil. The projectile smashed into the far wall... and there was an electrical explosion, leaving a smoking hole with wiring protruding. 

"Holographically cloaked security camera." Break Man explained, dusting himself off. "We can talk freely now; with both it and Big P out, Wily's got no way to know what goes on in this room." His face turned serious. "You don't have much time left, buddy. Wily's going to finish that thing in half an hour, tops." 

"Crap." Mega Man agreed. "How much further do I have to go?" 

"Two rings. Although the fourth one's mainly just a gauntlet of Sennet Robot Masters." 

"I know the routine." Mega said grimly. "After that?" 

"After that, you go to the roof. Wily's got a big war machine up there to pilot in a last-ditch effort in case he hasn't got Gamma ready. If you get out there and don't find him waiting for you, then you'll probably just want to jump off or something." 

"Gotcha." Mega nodded. "What will you do?" 

"I've still got to play Wily's flunky." Break Man reminded him. "Here's how we'll do it. You go ahead, and I'll wait here for ten minutes before following. When Wily asks what happened, I'll tell him you managed to trap me under Big P's remains and ran off." 

"Sounds good to me." Mega nodded. "I'll be off." 

"Very well. Good luck." As the blue robot turned to leave, hs rival clasped his shoulder. "And Rock..." 

"Yes?" Mega looked at him. 

"Whatever you do... don't die." Mega grinned. 

"Don't worry. I'm not done kicking you around yet." 

*** 

"..." Roll glanced at the clock for what seemed like the billionth time since Rock had left. It had been an hour and a half ago. The female robot forced her eyes away from it and instead began looking at all the others who were sitting around. They were all still in the Light household, downstairs. Mr. X and Dr. Corbun were sitting at the table, playing cards; nearby, Dr. Light as mixing his guests up some iced tea. Vinkus was sitting in an armchair in front of the television, flipping through channels with a glazed, brain-dead look on his face; he had gone into that state right after Rock had left, and refused to come out. 

"Is it always like this?" Dr. Corbun asked suddenly. Roll jumped. 

"What?" 

"Whenever he goes off to a Skull Fortress." The british doctor explained. "Does this happen every time? This depressing gloom?" 

"It did both times in the past." Roll sighed. "It just seems to fall on you... a melancholy gloom that we can't shake. I don't really know why it happens, but it does." 

"It's really not that hard to understand, Roll." Dr. Light said as he turned away from the counter with a glass in each hand. "We know that out there, Rock is risking his life in the final battle; not against some Robot Master, but against a very intelligent yet insane human. Albert. These are the most dangerous, most deadly moments of the Rebellions... and we sit here, unable to do anything at all except wait." He gave the drinks to Mr. X and Dr. Corbun, then returned for the other two. "We can't do anything at all, can't help him in the least, while he's saving the whole world. We're useless. If that's not depressing, I don't know what is. I suspect the only reason we didn't fall under it while he was battling Doc Man was because we had Gamma to work on, to distract us. And now Gamma has become the greatest threat of all the Rebellions." He offered a glass to Vinkus, who took it without changing expression, and took a sip of his own. "Heck, I'd be scared if we _weren't_ depressed." 

"So that's it, then?" Dr. Corbun growled. "We just sit around and mope and feel sorry for ourselves, and Rock's nearly getting killed, and we can't do squat about it?" 

"That's the gist of it." Roll nodded. 

"Damn it, Roll, there's got to be something!" Corbun jumped to his feet angrily. "We CAN'T just sit around here and do nothing!" 

"Then what would you suggest we do?" Roll snapped, her own temper starting to rise. "Send in forces? They'd get slaughtered. Bombings? It's too well-protected, and we'd stand a chance of hitting Rock too. Plus, Gamma's probably deep underground. A nuclear strike? Not only would it kill Rock, it'd take too long to set up. Wily and Gamma would be gone by then. Face it, Doc. We're not needed any more." Dr. Corbun sank back into his chair resignedly. 

"...Yes, I suppose you're right. It's just... damn it all, Roll..." 

"Yeah, I know." She smiled, looking tired. "The only thing that keeps me from getting just as angry as you is experience. It doesn't get any easier, but it's familiar, at least." 

"Let us pray that myself and Trent do not become familiar with the feeling." Mr. X said as he showed his cards. "Four aces." Corbun cursed and paid up. 

"Oh, I think we can be pretty confident that you won't." Roll muttered. "If Rock wins, they're never letting Wily out of jail again; this was his last chance. If Rock loses, we'll all be dead pretty soon. Either way, you won't go through 'Skull Fortress Depression' again." 

"That's a nice, optimistic way of looking at it." Dr. Corbun commented as he shuffled the deck. Roll shrugged. 

"It keeps me from being too disappointed if things don't turn out well." 

"It also makes you a very grumpy person to live with." Dr. Light chimed in. 

"You stay out of this." 

"How exactly did you acquire a pessimistic outlook?" Mr. X asked curiously. "It's not the sort of thing I'd expect from a robot." 

"Blame it on my gender." Roll said flippantly. "Actually, I probably got it from Wily before he went nuts. Rock tended to take after dad more, though. The other six had their personalities predesigned." She frowned in thought and turned to Dr. Light. "What about Blues?" 

"Blues?" Dr. Light blinked. "Blues... wasn't really an optimist or a cynic. He was a realist, I guess is the best way to put it. He tried to see things exactly as they were without attaching opinions to them... of course, I can't be sure about that since he never really talked that much." 

"Bit of a loner, eh?" Corbun asked. "Well, some people are like that... it stands to reason that some robots would be too." 

"And then there was Doc Man..." Dr. Light shook his head. "I don't think he really counts, though. In his insanity, he didn't really have any sense of the future or possibilities outside of what he felt was his righteous revenge... he just saw it happening, with no chance about it." 

"That's not a good way of thinking." Mr. X said disapprovingly. 

"Wait, hold on." Roll frowned. "If that was true, he wouldn't have any sort of backup plan. He wouldn't be able to conceive the need for one, that his schemes would fail. Quite obviously, he DID." Dr. Corbun nodded. 

"She's got a point." 

"I suppose you're right." Dr Light thought for a moment. "Maybe a more accurate assessment would be that he used complete logic... or what he saw as logic, anyways... in his thinking. He made back-up plans in case he failed. That way, if his trap worked, then he won, but if it didn't, he had another. Accepting both possibilities." 

"That sounds about right, yes." Mr. X agreed. 

"Are you sure you're not giving him too much credit?" Roll frowned. "He was insane, remember... could he really think that clearly?" 

"Oh, yes." Dr. Corbun growled. "Don't forget, he hijacked every Robot Master we had at Sennet. He was insane, but he was still very intelligent, and very dangerous. He probably got that from Wily... remember, he spent his early life as that madman's second-in-command at the first Skull Fortress. Not exactly an ideal childhood." 

"Yeah, that's gotta be it." The female robot nodded. Suddenly, Vinkus made a sort of choking noise. "Huh? What is it?" 

"Look..." The politician croaked, pointing at the television. The others immediately ran over and looked. Mr. X went white. Dr. Corbun groaned dismally. Dr. Light covered his face. Roll gasped and sat down on a couch. None of them moved their vision away from the television screen. On it was horribly familiar symbol. A giant W over a white ring, with the "Dr." in the upper-left corner. 

The emblem of Dr. Wily. 

*** 

"Up the tower I go..." Mega muttered as he got off the ladder that had been right outside the Yellow Devil's room. He was standing underneath a protruding ledge; above, he heard something firing plasma shots. Judging by the rate of fire, it was a New Shotman. Mega looked upward and calculated a few angles, then fired a Gemini Beam. The laser bounced off the wall and up, straight into the annoying guard, which was fried on the spot. With a little help from Rush, Mega got onto the ledge and slid through a pipe to another ladder. While climbing, he discovered another set of explodable walls, each yielding large weapons energy pods. At the top of the climb, he found an even greater prize; another E-Tank. After that, however, things took a definite turn for the worse. Apparently, not satisfied with mimicing Hard Man's defenses, Wily had brought in the hologram machines and Walking Bombs from Mt. Vesuvius. 

"Too bad for him, my Magnet Missiles work as well as ever." Mega chuckled as he blew away a Hologran. At the end of the hall, a large pit awaited. Without a moment of hesitation, Mega jumped in. It was only as he was falling that he realized the stupidity of that action. Fortunately, there wasn't a bed of spikes waiting for him; just a Hammer Joe halfway down that he simply avoided, and a grumpy-looking giant Bikki stomper, sporting Break Man's paint job like all its brethren. "That guy needs to get a life..." Mega muttered as he destroyed it, slid through the pipe behind it... and met the business end of another. Swearing, Mega blew it to shreds with some Hard Knuckles, but the damage was done, and he was forced to use another E-Tank. Needless to say, he was in a thoroughly foul mood as he climbed up the ladder that went further skyward. Which explains why his reaction upon seeing the next room caused him to use words that his father would have severely frowned upon. To describe the room as an alley of hell wouldn't be too far off. Spikes on the floor. Spikes on the walls. And the only way up were several chained-together platforms that emerged from one wall, flew across the room, then entered the opposite. 

"OY..." Mega slapped his face. The platforms were moving too fast for him to use Rush; he'd easily be knocked off to his death. "Looks like I'm just gonna have to tough it out..." Still muttering cuss words under his breath, the hero jumped onto the first chain, then leaped onto the second. He left it right before it disappeared into the spiked wall and landed on a platform of the topmost chain just as it was emerging. From there, he climbed the ladder.. into another, nearly identical room. Mega managed it in the same way, and finally emerged in front of a metal shutter. 

"Another Fortress Guardian..." Mega muttered. "First Doc Man returns, then the Yellow Devil... if those friggin' Bubble Machines are in there, I'm gonna burst a circuit." He walked in. It was a three-story room; in the center of each floor was a teleporter. "I have a bad feeling about this..." Then, the Fortress Guardian appeared. It wasn't the Bubble Machines. It was worse. On each teleporter... appeared a Mega Man. All three glared down at the real hero; their eyes were blank and lifeless. Mega stumbled back. "Oh, lord... you're gonna pay for this, Wily." The copies didn't respond for a moment; then, as one, they lifted their arm cannons and fired. Snarling, Mega jumped to the side and returned fire at the lowest... and his bullets went right through it. "More holograms... but how is it firing then? Figure it out later..." He tried hitting another, with no greater effect. However, their shots did not do the same thing. Cursing, he shot the last one, and his shot finally affected it, making the imposter stumble back. "Yes! I'll just go after... D'OH!" They had teleported, changing position, then fired again. He dodged two of the shots, but the third hit his arm. "My buster won't cut it... maybe a seeking weapon." He turned to the Magnet Missile. That proved to be completely ineffective; the projectiles seemed not able to tell the difference between the real target and the holograms, and in the process he took several more hits. He angrily used an E-Tank, then whipped out the Search Snakes. 

"Let's see if you guys are as good at search-and-destroy as you're supposed to!" The hero yelled, flinging one at each of the enemies. Two just went through, but the third Snake latched onto something inside its target. "AHA!" Mega triumphantly released a swarm of snakes upon his now-located foe. Beeping frantically, it teleported with its holograms, but Mega simply found the vulnerable one again the same way and continued the barrage. Finally, with one last bleep, all three enemy Mega Men shimmered and disappeared, revealing a floating weapons pod and two tiny hovering guns. 

"The weapons pod was controlling the remote guns..." Mega realized. "Without computers in themselves, they could be made small enough that my shots all missed, and armored heavily." He shrugged. "But it's all just scrap now... on to the Fourth Ring." The blue hero climbed through the hatch in the ceiling, praying that he wouldn't be too late. 

And in the darkest levels of the Fortress, Gamma slept. 


	17. Chapter 16: The Ultimate War Machine

**__**

Chapter 16: The Ultimate War Machine 

__

And they say that 

A hero could save us 

I'm not gonna stand here and wait 

"Nine minutes..." Break Man muttered, leaning against the wall of the Yellow Devil's room. It had been nine very long minutes since Mega Man had departed, charging on further ahead into the tower of Skull Fortress, leaving Break Man behind. One more, and then he could finally follow, operating under the excuse that the blue hero had trapped him under the cyclops' remains. The red robot had even thrown himself at the rocks a few times in order to acquire some bruises to make it more believable. It was a painful but effective ruse; Dr. Wily would have no reason to doubt his story and would just blame it on incompetence. 

"He's rather quick to point out failures in others while ignoring his own.." Break Man noted. This time, though, he wanted that to happen; taking advantage of Wily's assumptions was what would make the plan work. Until then, though, he waited. Break Man had calculated the time well; ten minutes gave Mega enough of a lead that he would only be able to catch up to the hero at the very end, in the underground lair where Gamma lay dormant. That way, he'd be there for the end but wouldn't have to confront his rival again before then. They'd arrive at Gamma's resting place within minutes of each other. And there, if neccessary, the two of them would face down Dr. Wily, and stop Gamma from being unleashed. No matter what the cost, Gamma HAD to be destroyed before Wily could use it for his insane ambitions. Break Man shook his head; when the mad doctor had brought in Gamma, that had been the final thing that had convinced the red renegade that he was on the wrong side. 

"He just totally dropped all his pretenses... completely forgot to try and keep me fooled that he was the good guy here, and just kept barking out orders like I was another one of his mindless corrupted flunkies." Break Man remembered. "Not very smart of him; I guess the thrill of almost holding ultimate power was too much for him to keep that illusion of goodness up. Take that, and then add everything I saw of what Mega was really like all the times I met him, and it really doesn't take a genius robotocist like dad to figure out that the bad doctor wasn't on the up-and-up. Fortunately, it wasn't too late when I discovered that, and I was able to get to the blue boy so I could help him out here. Now, with the two of us working together on this, we might just have a slight chance at beating him... and the world might have a slight chance of surviving as it is." He frowned darkly, reminiscing further. 

"Argh... how could I have possibly been so stupidly gullible as to fall for those tricks in the first place? Geez, I was raised better than that! Well, at least they all made the mistake of trusting him too, so at least I'm not the only one. Still, it's gonna be embarassing when I tell them about it all. Hmm... maybe I'll blame it on all those years I spent trudging through the jungle without any success in getting out... from what I know of such things, that kind of ordeal would scramble most people's brains pretty badly. Excuses, excuses..." The red robot sighed. "Well, it's no use obsessing over the past. That's just a freakin' waste of time and energy, and chewing myself out over dumb mistakes isn't accomplishing anything. What's done is done; I need to focus on the here and now. And right here and right now, ten minutes have finally passed and I need to get going so I can catch up to blue-boy." Break Man got up and moved towards the exit. Once there, he paused and looked over at the pile of rubble that was all that remained of the Yellow Devil for a moment. "Sorry, one-eyed bro. You were on the wrong side." Turning away, he walked on, going through the door and climbing up the ladder to the tower. 

"He probably had to use his doggy to get onto that upper balcony..." Break Man muttered, looking up at the overhang above him. He smiled. "Fortunately for me, I know better." He stepped on a certain section of the floor, which sank down as a ladder popped out of the wall. He passed the wreckage of the New Shotman guard without comment, wriggling through the pipe. On the way up to the next floor, however, he couldn't resist remarking on the walls his blue rival had blown away with the Hard Knuckle. "Oy! It's bad enough he's blasting all the robot guards; does he have to destroy the architecture too? That boy's a natural disaster..." Still muttering to himself, he reached the top. Just to be sure, he checked the obvious place where he had placed an E-Tank. Sure enough, Mega had nabbed it. _Smart boy. I just hope he got the ones I put over the big pit in the Second Ring... I forgot to check on those ones._ The red robot moved on, hoping that Mega had taken out all the Holograns. 

"I don't really fancy having to run through here with those spacy holograms right about now..." Break Man muttered. Fortunately, he was right; the hero had been thorough, and every single Hologran was wasted. Jumping down a couple levels, he frowned at the pair of destroyed Bikkis. "Hey, I used some good spraypaint on those guys. Blargh. That guy really needs to get a sense of artistry." Climbing up the ladder, he frowned and glared disapprovingly at the spike-filled chamber with the moving platform chains. _I so do NOT have time to monkey around with all of this. I'm a robot, not a freakin' chimpanzee. Mega must have used some fairly severe cuss words when he came through here. At least he made it; there's no body. However, I'm not going to go through the thing while it's on; there are advantages to being the man on the inside._ Feeling around the wall, he soon found the secret panel that held the shut-off switch. Upon his pressing it, the chains of platforms ceased their movement, and hung motionless in the air. Break Man chuckled and began hopping up. 

_I probably shouldn't tell blue-boy about this... he probably had some trouble here, and if he finds out how easily I made it, he might turn homicidal on me. I've fought him enough already._ Reaching the top, he opened the metal shutters that led to the next Fortress Guardian. "Hey, HR-3! You there? HR-3, it's me, Break Man!" There was no response. Looking around, Break Man soon discovered the weapons pod and its two flying support guns lying on the ground, dead. "Too bad for you, buddy. Mega was better than you, too, it seems." The cycloptic robot rolled his eye. _It's probably really stupid of me, but part of me kinda wished he'd suffer some sort of crippling defeat or something. Anybody who wins ALL the time annoys me._ He closed his eye. _No, no, get off that line of thinking. If we're too late, that stupid idea might come true at Gamma's hands, and that's it for the planet. Very, very bad idea. I doubt I could live with the guilt of helping to bring it around. I hate suicidal possibilities. _The red robot sighed and walked forward, past the smoking remains of HR-3. 

"Well, I'd better get moving already. Wonder how far the blue boy's ahead of me by now... I really hope he didn't take a wrong turn somewhere." 

*** 

"I really hope I didn't take a wrong turn somewhere..." Mega Man muttered, looking around as he picked up the last of the numerous Weapons Energy pods he had found lying on the floor. He was in a dark, dreary tunnel; grey bricks and pipes made up the walls. "It'd be just like Wily to have the path lead off into the sewers or something instead of to the top." He shrugged. "Well, don't know until you try. Geronimo!" Jumping down a level, he was confronted by the most junky-looking robot he had ever seen. It was basically humanoid, but seemed to be made of grey slag. As he stared, a giant stone block fell from the ceiling into the robot's raised hand, and it chucked it at him. THAT got his attention. Mega jumped, but he was only partially able to dodge; the block smashed into his legs, sending him sprawling forward. Swearing, the hero blasted the junk golem with his arm cannon, but the shots didn't fell it. 

"Thick armor under all that slag, huh?" Mega muttered. Then he changed to the Gemini Beam and pierced it straight through. "Oh well. At least that answers my question; Wily wouldn't have bothered putting such a tough sentry here unless this was the right way." The hero encountered several more of the junk golems on his way down, and dealt with them all the same way. At the bottom of the passage, a metal shutter stood in his path. Walking through, Mega found a teleporter pod. 

"Of course Wily's still using them..." Mega growled. "Never mind that they're unsafe for humans. He's nuts." Shaking his head, he entered. When he popped out of another, he was facing a short, straight hall with a hole in the floor at the end. Above the hole, attached to the far wall, was... a television? "What the-?" As he looked at it, a familiar emblem materialized on the screen. Dr. Wily's insignia. The emblem receded into one corner of the screen, replaced by the mad doctor. 

"Greetings, people of Japan, America, Canada, Britain, and every place else in the world. I assume that most of you already know who I am. For the benefit of the uneducated, though, my name is Doctor Albert Wily. Yes, the same Dr. Wily who tried to conquer the world twice, and failed. The same Dr. Wily who was released by gullible fools. And the same Dr. Wily who now holds the world in the palm of his hand." He shook his head, grinning. 

"As many of you know, I have been recently working on the Ultimate War Machine, Gamma, with my old partner, Doctor Thomas Light. It was supposed to be for protecting the world, to make sure it was never threatened again. At least, that's what the United Nations believed." The mad doctor laughed. "IDIOTS! Gamma is now under my absolute control, and shall be brought to life within minutes of when this message shall be displayed. Once that has come to pass, I shall assume complete domination over the entire planet. Any attempts to resist will be obliterated. Gamma is an undefeatable weapon; it was designed to be the ultimate weapon, and if I do say so myself we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. And don't get any ideas about nuclear weapons; Gamma has a teleportation device. One moment we're in Japan, the next we're in Ireland, the next in Brazil." His threatening tone slid away to be replaced by unholy glee. 

"There is absolutely no way you can stop me! You trusting morons, you have set yourselves up to be conquered! Within a year, I, Dr. Albert Wily, will stand unopposed as the complete master of Earth, with Gamma as my throne! I spoke the truth when I promised the world that Gamma would make sure there would never be another Robot Rebellion. There will never be another one, because they are obsolete! Gamma is all I need! I won't invade your countries with armies or cut off your power or hold your leaders hostage. I will simply destroy everything that does not bow down to me! Oh, and one more thing. I imagine that some of the more optimistic of you fools are counting on that little blue pipsqueak, Mega Man. Well, give it up. He shall be the first to die!" Wily sneered. 

"Rock, I'm hoping you're watching this. Please, come on over! Your dear Unky Al is waiting for a visit, and he's got a new cousin for you! You'll be best friends, I know! I'll even take you two out for ice cream, since you were nice enough to forgive me for my past crim-" 

Mega Man destroyed the television with a single blast of plasma. But try as he might, he couldn't destroy the images that were forced into his brain. _I trusted him... I thought he was back to normal... I thought he could be good again... I forgave him... AND HE SPITS IN MY FACE. All I did... all the chances I and the rest of the world gave him... and he still remains the madman, the murderer... he'll never change, he's gone forever... _

"Wily..." Mega Man whispered, shaking with fury. "I swear that you will pay for this... no matter WHAT it takes!" He jumped down the hole in the floor and found himself in a brightly lit room. A metal shutter led out, but it was locked. The main feature of the room, however, was eight identical teleporters spaced evenly around. "He's going this route again... guess he liked it better." Each teleporter undoubtably led to a Sennet Robotics Robot Master. In the previous two Rebellions, Wily had also put each of his lackey Robot Masters to guarding the end of the Skull Fortress. In the First, they had been in a set order; the Second had used a room with eight teleporters. Apparently, he had liked that better. Picking one, Mega stepped into it. 

"So, there you are..." The Pinhead on the other side of the small room growled, turning. "It's about time! I was bored out of my skull waiting. But now, it's rematch time! Prepare yourself for the wrath of Needle Man Mk II!" Mega's rage was momentarily replaced by amusement. 

"You know, you're not really Needle Man. I killed him. You're just a Pinhead who Wily programmed to think he was Needle-nose." The Pinhead stared at him for a moment, then chuckled darkly. 

"You know, even if I believed you, I wouldn't give a shit. All that matters now is us fighting. Make it a good one, brat!" With that challenge, he launched himself into the air and began firing the Needle Cannon. Mega sighed as his colors lightened to frost blue and white. 

"I shoulda known you'd say that..." The Gemini Beam bounced off the wall and hit Needle Man II in the back of the head. Screaming, the Robot Master fell to the ground and got hit by another. Enraged, he jumped forward, intending to impale Mega Man on his headpiece... but before he could bend over, an intense pain filled his entire body, and he looked down to see a smoking hole through his chest. He forced his eyes up to meet Mega's again... and smiled. 

"Yeah... that was... a good fight. Little... short, though. Next time... make it... longer..." His eyes rolled up, and he toppled over, dead. Mega shook his head and left without saying anything. Back in the teleporter room, he noticed for the first time that there were eight lights above the metal shutter. Seven were green, and one was red. 

"Hmmm..." Shrugging, he entered the next teleporter. A Magnus glared at him. 

"Mega Man! You beat me by luck last time... this time, you die!" Without waiting for a response, he leaped forward. 

"Same old cocky Magnet Man..." Mega muttered. "Let's see how your systems handle some extra wattage." Sliding under his enemy's jumps, the hero turned and fired some Spark Shots. Magnet Man II just laughed. 

"Bring it on... YAAAAH!" The robot master writhed as several thousand volts were violently blasted through him. "You think that's funny?! Right back atcha!" He leaped up and fired Magnet Missiles, which Mega dodged with some well-timed sliding before shooting more Spark Shots. Furious, Magnet Man II crouched and activated his own personal magnetic field. "Your zaps can't hurt me now! Come to papa!" He gloated. He was obviously unaware that his field just drew the Spark Shots in faster. He didn't even have time for a scream before he exploded. 

"Next." Upon returning to the teleporter room, Mega discovered that two of the lights were now red. "Aha. As I thought... beat 'em all, and the door opens." He shrugged again and entered the next teleporter. 

"Mega Man!" The two Gemini Models yelled in unison. "There's no Break Man for you this time... you're going down!" Mega just smirked as his color and weapon changed. 

"Two against one. Oh look, I'm green with envy." He raised his arm cannon and created a Search Snake. "Oops. There's my teammate. So much for your numerical superiority, eh?" Before the Gemini Men could attack, they were quite literally covered in snakes. The result was obvious. Whistling, Mega Man left and entered the next teleporter. The Smashbody inside didn't even bother with banter; he just attacked by launching his fists. Mega slid the first, jumped the other, and responded with Magnet Missiles. Growling, the foe launched himself upward to try and squish the hero. Mega slid out of the way, and when Hard Man II landed, blasted his backside with more Magnet Missiles. The huge Robot Master groaned, then fell over and didn't move. The next teleporter presented Mega with a Spinstrike. 

"IIIIIIIIT'S SHOW TIME!" The Robot Master screamed. "Welcome to the Wily Bros. Six-Ring circus! We hope you enjoyed the lion tamer, human cannonball, acrobats and elephant! And now, for our next act..." He launched his deadly tops, which zeroed in on Mega. 

"The clown act..." Mega muttered, sliding to dodge. "And speaking of elephants, try some of this, ya loon!" He fired a Hard Knuckle straight into Top Man II's face. It smashed him into the wall. As he extricated himself, the Robot Master was laughing. 

"Thank you, thank you! And now, a repeat performance!" Spinning wildly, he launched himself at Mega at top speed. Mega jumped, landed, turned, and gave him another Knuckle sandwich. 

"I wish I could do that..." The hero complained as he advanced on his felled opponent. "Your weapon sucks for me." Top Man smiled up at him. 

"Sorry, kid, but circus souveniers have a no-return policy! This show is over, but it's almost time for the final act! Get to your seats!" He cackled as the final Hard Knuckle punched his head clean off his shoulders, and Mega went on to Teleporter #6. However, upon entering, he discovered something odd. The room was empty; no Robot Master was inside. Mega frowned. 

"This smells bad..." He went back out to the teleporter room. Looking around, he spotted a movement out of the corner of his eye. Instantly, he changed weapons, and the Ripwood found himself facing a Top Spin instead of the easy kill he had anticipated. Slamming into a wall, he sputtered. 

"What... but... how did you know it was me?" 

"The only ones left are you, Spark Man and Snake Man." Mega answered him. "Neither of those two is big on stealth. Thus, when I saw a surprise attack, I knew it was you." 

"Clever..." Shadow Man II grudgingly admitted. "But I have other tactics." He threw a deadly ninja star. Mega ran forward, hurdled it, and smashed into Shadow Man in another Top Spin. This one was fatal. Dusting himself off, the hero entered the seventh teleporter. 

"So you've come..." The Zapplug glared at him. "Well, you may be able to beat me, but I won't go down easily!" 

"Finally, a realistic approach." Mega murmured approvingly as he readied the Shadow Blade. "Let's make this quick... I have a weapon of mass destruction to catch." 

"Yeah, sure, whatever..." Spark Man II muttered as he bounced forward, releasing a storm of small sparks. Mega leaped forward as well, and calmly sliced the unlucky Robot Master's head off. 

"Only Snake Man left..." The hero smiled as he emerged back in the teleporter room and readied the Needle Cannon. He calmly entered the eigth teleporter and waved at the Serpos. "Hey! How about some needles?" 

"..." Snake Man II glared without speaking for a few moments. "You knew it was me before you even came in. I'm the last one, aren't I?" 

"Yup." Mega nodded. The Robot Master sighed. 

"Figures. All right, let's get this over with." Fifteen seconds later, Mega returned to the teleporter room to see the metal shutter open. Walking in, he soon found one last teleporter, which he entered. A moment later, he was on top of the central tower of Skull Fortress. The view was suberb, but that wasn't what he was here for. Looking around, he discovered a thin bridge extending out over the side of the tower to a small building that was somehow unsupported by anything except the bridge. 

"Must be made of pretty strong metal..." Mega muttered to himself as he walked across. The building contained some energy, both for himself and his weapons, and a hole in the floor. Gathering up the items, Mega jumped in. He landed on a tower he had seen from the outside at the beginning; it was designed to resemble a giant femur. "Finally... it's come down to this again. All right, Wily. Where are you?" For a moment, there was no response, and he feared that he had come too late, that Wily had already completed Gamma.And then, he heard a loud clank behind him, and turned to see a giant machine facing him down. The latest Wilymachine was completely different than the first two; it slightly resembled a giant, metallic crab minus the claws. The main body was bright orange, and above it was a heavily armored red dome. A pair of stalk eyes glared at him from the sides, and below those were its method of moving; a set of huge blue metal pins that acted as legs. Below, on the underside, was a rotating plasma cannon. 

"I'm right here, Rock!" A speaker cackled. "So you beat the clock... well, it matters not! I'm going to crush you with my Pinbot!" 

"Wily..." Rock said quietly. "You're the one who's going down. For betraying the world who gave you another chance... the family who accepted you... and your enemy who forgave you!" 

"Oh, what a shame." Wily laughed within his Pinbot. "I can't be blamed for your pitiful delusions! If you chose to believe I had given up on my dream, that's your fault!" His voice grew threatening. "Now hear this, Rock! I will NEVER give up! If you defeat me here, I will come back! Every time, again an again, until you are dead and I rule the world!" The speech took on a mocking note. "Unless, of course, you were to kill me... but that would violate your Rules of Robotics, wouldn't it? A robot must not harm a human being, and all that. Face facts, Rock! You can't stop me! However, the converse is decidedly not true, as I shall now demonstrate! Die, Rock!" The Pinbot advanced, walking crablike sideways, and the plasma cannon on the bottom sprang to life, firing spiraling blasts. 

"Your calculation has one flaw, Wily!" Mega Man yelled as he ran to the side to avoid the first shot. "I CAN stop you, and I WILL!" He returned fire with his own arm cannon, aiming for the gun on the underside. "This is it, Wily... this is the end for you, and your sick plans!" Dashing between the Pinbot's legs, he fired several shots into the cannon point-blank. Unfortunately, this also left him open to opposing fire. The blast smashed him back, straight under one of the legs which was rising up in a step. The hero rolled aside inches before getting impaled. As he rose, another plasma shot hit his right arm. He ignored it and returned fire, dodging around the Pinbot instead of moving in again. The plasma cannon could rotate 360 degrees, but the machine's actual movement could not boast the same. Thus, Mega's opponent was largely immobile. The outcome was fairly predictable. 

"It's not over yet, fool!" Wily screamed as the plasma cannon exploded, setting off a chain reaction that also wiped out the eyes and the shielding on the upper dome, revealing a dome of the same glasslike material that had been built around the cockpits of the other Wilymachines. Although it looked fragile, the unknown substance was incredibly sturdy, and it would take a lot of shots to destroy it. And inside the dome, seated before the controls of the Pinbot, was Dr. Wily. "Try this on for size!" He pushed some buttons, and the now-vacant sockets that had held the eye stalks were revealed as more plasma cannons. "Go ahead! Try and attack!" 

"Gladly!" Mega Man yelled as he fired. And the shot was deflected by the plasma-deflective lower body's armor. Wily laughed. 

"Imbecile! How do you expect to defeat me if you can't even hit me?" Mega cursed; the lower body would block any attempts at his attack unless he moved to the edge of the towertop, and allowing himself to be cornered like that was, quite frankly, suicide. "You can't! It's that simple! None of your Master Weapons can hit me up here! Your only choice is death! And oh, how disappointed the people oft he world will be... they're watching us now, you know." 

"What?!" 

"Oh, yes!" Wily gloated. "There are a dozen video cameras watching this fight, transmitting it live to every television channel in the world! All the people on this planet will fall in despair as their champion dies at last! Some hero!" 

"Hero..." Mega slowly smiled as he realized how he would win. "Once again, Wily, you forgot one thing. All too often, there's one thing about superheroes... they can fly." He whistled, and Rush appeared by his master's side, transforming into jetboard configuration. Before the doctor's stunned eyes, Mega stepped onto the dog's back and blasted off through the air. "Now, let's see how YOU handle an opponent who can rise higher than you." He snarled. 

"Come on then!" Wily screamed. "You shall still die!" The plasma cannons on the Pinbot sprang to life, firing upon Mega Man and Rush like snipers shooting at a plane. The robot and his dog dodged and weaved, soaring around the plasma fire before swooping in and strafing Wily in the Pinbot's dome top. Cursing, the mad doctor swiveled his cannons to hit them, but they were already gone, back up in the air behind him. As they made a wide turn, Wily fired once more, punching the buttons in the cockpit frantically. It seemed like the air was filled with a storm of plasma. Mega and Rush moved up and down as they turned; although they couldn't dodge all the shots, only a few struck the blue hero as he and his ride moved back down once more and blasted Wily again, causing the doctor to howl in rage. Now in front of the machine again, Mega and Rush made a wide turn in the air for another attack. 

"Give it up, Wily!" Mega called to his enemy. "We've got you beat! Admit it!" 

"NEVER!" Wily screeched, spitting brown froth. "You will NEVER defeat me!" The doctor redoubled his plasma assault once again. A shot hit Rush in the side, and the dog howled in pain. 

"Rush! Are you okay?" Mega yelled, concerned. The robotic dog whined and slowly began descending. "Oh no... Rush, stay up!" But it appeared the dog's jets had been damaged, and he couldn't stay up. Inevitably, he fell down towards the waiting Pinbot. Dr. Wily laughed in victory. 

"NOW who's got who beat?! Your access to the sky is gone, and your life with it! Any last words?" 

"Rush, get out of here!" Mega Man commanded as he leaped into the air.The faithful dog teleported out, complying. Wily's eyes grew wide; the blue robot was not attempting to steer away from the Pinbot as he fell, but was instead moving TOWARDS it! The impact of his body against the glass dome shook the whole machine. Wily stared in awe. 

"What are you DOING?" Mega didn't respond; he just gave the shrinking doctor a grim stare as his colors changed to dark blue and white and he unleashed an explosive Hard Knuckle point blank into the dome. The detonation completely destroyed the dome; fragments of it were driven into the nearby controls, and the cockpit began to smoke and sputter. Wily frantically wrestled with the controls, but it was no use; explosions were heard within the Pinbot's workings, and smoke poured out of the plasma cannons. The machine's legs stopped moving, and slowly, it slid down on them with a horrible screeching noise. The impact of the Pinbot smashing into the ground was the final bit of damage. Covering his head with his hands, Wily leaped out of the cockpit seconds before it erupted in fire. He landed on all fours, and turned his head to stare at his machine, which slowly tipped over the side of the tower as it was consumed in explosions. The Pinbot remained in the air for several moments before it landed in the desert below with one last, giant explosion, nothing more than a flaming wreckage of the war machine it had once been. "No..." 

"Oh, yes." Mega Man snarled as he landed in front of the mad doctor. "It's all over, Wily. You've lost." He strode forward and grabbed Wily's arm. "Your plot to use Gamma has failed... and you're never going to trouble the world again." 

"No..." Wily whispered, covering his face with his free hand. "No... I... I did it again... Rock... please forgive me..." 

"You DARE to ask that?" Mega Man yelled. "After betraying me, betraying us all, you DARE ask for forgiveness?!" 

"Yes..." Wily moaned. "Yes, I do..." Suddenly, his head sprung off his shoulders on a spring. "YES! YES I DO! BWA HA HA!" The doctor's head bounced around crazily, tongue flapping out and eyes goggling. Mega jumped back, cursing. 

"What the HELL?!" 

"What's wrong, Rock?" The revealed robotic fake cackled. "I thought the world decided my head wasn't screwed on right years ago!" 

"A fake..." Rock gritted his teeth. "Just a fake! A delaying action! DAMN YOU!" Without waiting for a response, he blew it into scrap. "Clever move, Wily... but you're not getting away with this..." Draining an E-Tank to recover from the battle, he looked around the tower, soon found an elevator and entered it. It moved down, and the hero disappeared from view. "So he's dragging it out to the bitter end... well, then, that's how it will be. A few minutes more doesn't matter... Wily, you're finished." 

And in the darkest levels of the fortress, Gamma stirred. 

*** 

"Oh, and one more thing. I imagine that some of the more optimistic of you fools are counting on that little blue pipsqueak, Mega Man. Well, give it up. He shall be the first to die!" Wily sneered. "Rock, I'm hoping you're watching this. Please, come on over! Your dear Unky Al is waiting for a visit, and he's got a new cousin for you! You'll be best friends, I know! I'll even take you two out for ice cream, since you were nice enough to forgive me for my past crimes!" The mad doctor broke into insane laughter; laughter that sounded to Roll and Dr. Light almost exactly like that of his deranged robotic son, Doc Man. To Vinkus, Dr. Corbun and Mr. X, who had never met the mechanical psychopath and were completely unaware even of his existence, Wily's laughter sounded simply like the maniac he had been revealed as. It was quite a while before he could recover enough to speak again. "Make no attempts to resist, as they will only get you killed. Gamma is completely unstoppable! Now, as of estimated 7 PM Japan time, the world is MINE to command!" He sneered at the screen once more. "Tom, Roll, I'm hoping you're watching this! I'll be paying a call on you first of all; I have to introduce you to the newest member of our family!" The screen faded to black accompanied by a second torrent of laughter. The five assembled stared at it for several minutes before Roll spoke. 

"To use a term you probably don't like, dad... we are royally screwed." She threw her hands in the air and laughed helplessly. "This is it! It's over! We're dead! The planet Earth is toast! And you know what the best part is? If the two of you had listened to HIM," she pointed at Vinkus, "None of this would have happened! He was right! He was smarter than you when it came to judging these things! VINKUS!" She collapsed into a chair. "Damn it, dad... why couldn't you at least build tear ducts into us? The world is ending, and I can't even cry about it..." 

"Wait, wait! Hold on!" Mr. X pointed at a clock excitedly. "Thomas, is this set accurately?" Dr. Light frowned. 

"Yes... why on earth does it matter?" Dr. Corbun stared at the timekeeping device. 

"Why does it matter? Are you blind?! Use your eyes, man!" He pointed as well, and the others looked. The clock read 6:45. "It's not 7 yet! By his own estimate, Gamma isn't complete! And whenever he made that recording, Mega hadn't died yet! There's still time, and there's still a chance!" 

"So it's all relying on Rock again..." Roll whispered. Dr. Light nodded soberly in agreement. 

"It's always relied on Rock, Roll. We already knew that. It just seems so much more pressing now, when things are so close to disaster... fifteen minutes away." The normally sedate doctor suddenly scowled furiously, and with a scream of rage he punched a sofa cushion so hard it exploded, scattering down all over the room. "AND WE DON'T KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON THERE! ROCK'S RISKING HIS LIFE, THE WHOLE WORLD, AND WE CAN'T EVEN SEE HIM TO KNOW IF HE'S STILL ALIVE!" Dr. Corbun and Mr. X each took one of Dr. Light's arms and moved him towards a chair, trying to calm him down. 

"I know, Tom, I know." Dr. Corbun told him. "I'm just as angry about it as you are, but there's honestly nothing we can do about the whole sorry mess. We just have to trust that he can do it..." 

"That's easy for you to say!" Dr. Light snapped. "It's not YOUR son who's out there risking himself! Why don't you go ram yourself down a loo back home, you tea-sloshing limey!" Dr. Corbun drew back, and Mr. X frowned. 

"Tom, stop it. You're losing your head. Trent didn't deserve that." 

"I know..." Dr. Light sat down and wiped his brow. "I'm sorry, Trent. I guess the pressure just got to me..." 

"It's fine." Dr. Corbun waved nonchalantly. "I don't blame you for being upset... this is a very tense time for all of us. I think the world hangs dangerously close to the brink of annihilation more in this single hour than in any since World War III ended... and our only weapon is your son, a small boy in blue armor. But that small boy may be the most powerful weapon on the planet. We have to believe in him, Tom... we have to believe he can do it. That Rock can save the world." 

"Believe in a robot..." Vinkus muttered, speaking for the first time since the dreadful broadcast. "Rely on a robot to save the world..." His cell phone began ringing (computer-run video phones were still not portable), and he answered it. "Hello? Yes, this is Vinkus... yes... yes... all right... yes, I saw it... yes, I agree... okay... mm-hmm......... What?! They're going to WHAT?... I see... and we're letting them?... Well, all right, that is true... yes, I see... very well, I agree. Go ahead... I'll be right down." He turned it off. 

"Who was that?" Roll asked curiously. Vinkus frowned, rising from his seat. 

"That was the rest of the United Nations council... They're authorizing the use of nuclear weapons by the American government to take out Skull Fortress. The attack won't be able to hit before 7 o' clock, but they're hoping Wily's estimate was too optimistic, or that he'll hang around his place for a few minutes afterwards." 

"Nuclear weapons?!" Dr. Light choked. "If Rock's still in there... he'll be killed as well!" 

"I'm afraid that we have no other option..." Vinkus told him. "The entire planet is at stake... the risk here is simply too great to rely solely on one robot. If there is even a slight chance we can destroy Gamma by nuking Skull Fortress, than we must do so immediately. We must do anything that is needed to save the world... even if it means sacrificing Rock." The politician took his coat off the coatrack. "I'm afraid that I will need to be leaving at this time... the UN requires all the council members to be assembled at least in holographic form at the time of the nuclear attack. Pray for the future of this planet, all of you..." He walked out without another word. Dr. Corbun nodded grimly. 

"I hate to say it, but he's got the right idea. We've already established that staying here isn't accomplishing anything, and there are some things I need to take care of elsewhere also... I'll be going too." 

"And I as well." Mr. X nodded. The two of them moved towards the door, then stopped, turning to look back at the Lights. "We shall pray for Rock's success with all our hearts, my friends." 

"Thank you." Roll said simply. The two men nodded, then walked out, shutting the door behind them (unlike Vinkus). After they had left, the female robot turned to her father. "Well, it's just the two of us again." An annoyed beep of protest down near her feet made her smile for a moment. "Sorry abour that, Eddie. I meant to say, it's just the three of us again." 

"And all we can do is wait..." Dr. Light said quietly. "Wait, and hope..." 

"That's what we always do." Roll reminded him gently. "We helped Rock out to get him this far... but now he's on his own for the final run that decides it all. We're just gonna have to trust him... that he can do it." 

"Yeah..." The doctor sighed. "But I wish there was at least one person... somebody in the world who could help him out now." 

*** 

A slight thud signified that the elevator had reached the bottom, and a moment later, the doors openes. Mega Man walked out and looked around. The room he was in was filled with various supply materials that were scattered around everywhere. He was easily able to refill all his weapons, and even managed to find one last E-Tank, giving him two for the end. The hero then cast his gaze to the metal shutter at the far end of the room. "I wonder where Break Man is... but I can't delay any longer. I'm here, Wily. I'm here for you... and Gamma." He walked through, and entered the vast underground chamber where the Ultimate War Machine rested. He emerged on a girder, in the scaffolding high up. The room had almost no lights on, so most of Gamma was covered in darkness. He could only see what was high up, near him; the dark blue chest with red shoulders that continued down into unseen arms. On top of the chest was a strange, giant hinge with two orbs above it; some kind of weapons system, most likely. And above those... the relatively small (as big as Mega Man's entire body), dark blue head. As the small robot approached... Gamma's eyes opened. 

"No..." Mega whispered in horror. "No, I'm too late... he's active..." Gamma glared down, but did not move any other part of his body. His jaw began working without making any noise, and plasma bullets began flying out. Mega dumbly moved out of the way. "I've failed... I've failed the world... and I'm dead... any moment now, he'll stop toying with me, and crush me like a flea..." But Gamma didn't. He just kept spitting those plasma bullets as if they were all he had. After a couple minutes of this, Mega frowned. "Something's up. Why isn't he even moving? Wait..." He ran over to the War Machine and placed his hand against the metal chest. It was cold and lifeless, not showing any signs of energy. "Does this mean..." He stared up at the angry head in astonishment. "The head is the only part that's active! The rest isn't up yet! Which means..." A slow, fierce grin came to the hero's face. "Which means I can still win this." Running over to the far side of the girder on which he stood, Mega clambered onto another, high piece of scaffolding which jutted out to Gamma's head like a walkway. Obviously, this was how Wily had worked on the head. It was truly fortunate that the mad doctor hadn't thought to remove it afterwards. 

"Why do you persist in this?" Gamma spoke for the first time. "Your current actions are incorrect. There is precisely 0% chance that you can destroy me. Do not delay what will happen." 

"I thought they said you weren't going to have a mind of your own..." Mega muttered. "Looks like Wily's been making more than a few changes..." 

"Resistance is futile." Gamma answered mechanically. 

"Oh, button it!" Mega yelled, firing back. His plasma bullets simply bounced off. 

"I have been constructed to be immune to all your weapons systems." Gamma told him. "Resistance is futile." 

"You already said that!" The hero yelled, trying the Magnet Missiles and the Needle Cannon. Both were ineffective. As he switched to the Spark Shot, something hit him in the gut. "OW!" What he had taken for ears on the sides of Gamma's head had been revealed as plasma cannons. 

"It is as I said. Your weapons are ineffective. Your forcing me to repeat myself wastes energy. Stop and be destroyed." 

"Geez, you're straightforward..." Mega growled. The Spark Shot and the Gemini Beam were both ineffective as well. "I'll be you don't even know how to... hey..." He raised his voice. "HEY, YOU! How much time is left until your main body activates?" 

"..." Gamma blinked. "Exactly sixty seconds remain until Gamma is brought to life." 

"Sixty seconds..." Mega repeated dismally. "No! Gotta finish this first... there's gotta be SOMETHING that works on you!" Whatever it was, it wasn't the Search Snakes. With a growing sense of desperation, he released a Hard Knuckle. The heavy explosive flew straight and true into Gamma's head before detonating... and blasting away a layer of armor. Gamma's mouth hung open. 

"Error! Error! Chances of your destroying me are now 30%! Impossibility! Changes in possibility are inefficient!" 

"Ah, go to hell!" Mega laughed, firing more Hard Knuckles. Each one destroyed another armor layer. "You're not so invincible after all... as a matter of fact..." The final layer of armor was destroyed, exposing the inner circuitry, and Mega Man was ready. As he turned purple, the hero created a Shadow Blade in each hand and leaped forward towards the stunned head. "YOU'RE DEAD!!!" There was a flash of light as Mega flung the blades into Gamma's brain. He landed on the lower girder that he had walked in open, then turned to see the so-called Ultimate War Machine. Gamma was staring straight out, ignoring the small blue robot. 

"In... con... ceiv... ab... le..." His eyes dimmed over, and the head of Gamma exploded violently, scattering pieces of itself all over the vast lair but leaving not a trace on the body. The hole that remain above those dull orbs didn't smoke or sputter; almost as if the head were not attached... 

"I did it..." Mega whispered. "Gamma is gone. Now, there's just Wily... where are you, you madman?" 

"RIGHT HERE!" The scream came from above, and Mega stared in disbelief as a spiked, bloodred metal cap fell from the dark ceiling onto the hole. A cap... 

"No..." Mega Man choked, seeing what he had not seen before. What he had taken for a weapons system, between the chest and the apparent head. The hinge... a lantern jaw. And those orbs... the eyelids rose, revealing yellow pupils on a white background. And on top, the headgear, with a single clear spot, revealing a single, aged human behind controls. WILY. 

"Did you like my false head, Rock?" The insnae doctor giggled. "As if I would build Gamma's head so pathetic, or give him even a semblance of free will... no, I learned my lesson from Doc Man! _I_ am Gamma's brain! And now... HE LIVES!" With a horrendous creaking, the gigantic, humanoid machine moves its arms and flexed its legs. Hundreds of weapons popped in and out again, being tested, all over the body. And in the darkest levels of the fortress... Gamma rose. 

"No..." Mega Man said, so quietly that not even an elephant would have been able to hear him had he been standing right next to it. "NO.... _NO!_" 

"YES!" Dr. Wily cackled. "Gamma walks! He is alive! He is mine, and so is the world! I have won at last, the planet trembles with my footstep! And you, tiny, insignificant little Mega Man..." The head nodded so that Wily could look directly into his hated foe's eyes. "You... LOSE. Game over." 

"No..." Mega Man erked out. "I will not give up... NEVER! I destroyed your machines before... every last one! I will NOT fold now! Prepare yourself Wily... for one last fight!" He drained an E-Tank to recover from the fight with the fake head, and readied his arm cannon. Wily looked down at him... and began laughing hysterically. 

"You don't get it, do you? You fool, those were simply war machines! What I have here is a mechanical GOD! Gamma is the ultimate weapon... he is immortal! You are pathetic compared to him... you are less than a flea! You should consider yourself honored that you're barely, minisculely worth the trouble of being squashed!" The mouth sprang to life, and began firing huge plasma blasts. Mega ran, desperately jumping and sliding to avoid them as he selected a weapon. 

"I've defeated you at every turn, and you don't consider me an opponent?" Mega yelled scornfully, accompanying his challenge with a storm of the Needle Cannon that would have caused an elephant to bleed to death within moments. "Well, then, what DO you think of as a worthy adversary?" 

"Oh, I don't know..." Wily grinned as every single needle broke against the invincible command module he occupied. "Perhaps... the entire United States Army? All at once?" 

"What?!" Mega choked as he turned to the Magnet Missile. "They would drag you down with sheer numbers, moron!" 

"Oh, I don't know..." Wily laughed as he punched a button. An electromagnetic ray was emitted, and the Magnet Missiles flew drunkenly off towards the ceiling. "Numbers don't mean much when you can't even harm your enemy. I wonder what it will be like to use a tank as a football... it sounds fun, especially if I stuff as many people into it as possible first! It might take me a while, yes, but the length of the battle is all that would make it fitting! And speaking of which, this battle has gone on too long!" The mad doctor flipped a switch, and the plasma blaster in Gamma's mouth turned off. "Let's give something else a shot, shall we?" Hatches on Gamma's shoulders opened, and from each came a missile battery. Mega's eyes widened. 

"SHIT!" He dived to the side as they all fired at once, completely obliterating the section of the girder on which he stood. Wily laughed, and Gamma's jaw moved up and down as well in mocking imitation. Mega growled and changed his weapon again. "Let's see how you like some explosives of your own! It's worked against everything so far... and now, it'll finish the job!" He fired the Hard Knuckles as the missile batteries returned fire again. To dodge, Mega dived off the girder her was standing on, towards a lower piece of scaffolding. As he fell, he heard the explosion of the Hard Knuckles. Landing, he looked up; the head was completely covered in smoke. _Please be damaged, please be damaged, please be..._

"BOO!" Dr. Wily screamed as Gamma bent over, bringing the head down to Mega's level and out of the smoke. It didn't even have a scratch on it. "Looks like you little firecrackers have failed you! I suppose I could taunt you with my explosives... but no." The missile batteries receded... and other hatches to their sides opened. "I'll just give you the cold shoulder instead!" The barrels that came out focused on Mega, and began emitting cryogenetic gas. If those even touched him, he would be instantly, irreversibly frozen. Dead. That could not be allowed to happen. 

"So we're in a cold spot..." The blue hero said to himself as he moved out of the way of the slow-moving gas. "Well, this should warm your heart!" He became a wintery blue and white to match the attack being used against him, and pointing his arm upward, he fired the Gemini Beam. The slim, straight beam of light zipped towards Wily... and was deflected. "Damn!" Mega smiled grimly. "Well, at least he can't hit me either... those freezing gases are too slow." 

"You're right!" Wily yelled. Mega jumped and slapped himself; he had forgotten how close he was to the control pod. "Thank you for informing me of that, Rock! Since you're so insistent about finishing this, I shall be overjoyed to oblige you!" The cryogenetic gas shut off, and the emitters slid back in as Gamma stood up straight once more, putting Mega at the abomination's waist level. The hero didn't waste time waiting for him to prepare another deadly weapon; he pointed his arm cannon upward toward the control pod high above him, and let loose with some Spark Shots. The electrical blasts slammed into Gamma's cranium, and dispersed harmlessly. "Idiot! Did you think I would not shield Gamma against electricity?!" 

_Not good._ Mega thought dismally. The only two weapons he had left were the Shadow Blade and the Search Snake, both short-range. And he had no way of hitting the head now! The old despair began creeping over him... until he saw the ladders. A pair of ladders built into the walls, going upward! Desperately, he turned towards the one on his left and began running. 

"Oh, no you don't!" Wily taunted him, bringing a fist up to point at him. "I may be electrically shielded, but YOU are NOT!" On the underside of the forearm, something emerged; an electrical pulse blaster. Laughing once more, he fired at the little blue pest... except Mega wasn't there anymore. As soon as the weapon had began emerging, he had u-turned and was now climbing up the other ladder, the one on the right. Howling, Wily shifted his fire, but Mega was already climbing up. As he was about to fire, the mad doctor suddenly had an idea, and he smiled. "I think I'll play with you a little more..." The electrical pulsers receded, and from the upper sides of the forearms, other weapons came out. Flamethrowers. Face lit up with glee, Wily had Gamma cover the bottom of the ladder in waves of fire. 

"Idiot..." Mega smirked as he climbed higher. "Metal doesn't burn... oh, no." He groaned in sudden realization. The only metal parts of the ladder were the anchors that held it against the wall; the rest was WOOD! "YAGH!" With a cry of horror, Mega frantically scrambled upwards as the fires advanced. Finally, he made it up to the overhanging scaffolding that he had stood on to eliminate the false head. He jumped off onto it just as the ladder collapsed in flames, and pulled out his Shadow Blade. Wily clapped. 

"Very good, Rock! You made it up! As a prize, I'll let you take a shot, free of charge! Go on ahead!" 

"If you insist..." Mega threw the Shadow Blade he held straight at Wily's grinning mug. It shattered against the control pod. "DAMN IT ALL!" The mad doctor shook his head and made a clicking noise with his tongue. 

"Oh, Rock, why don't you listen? I told you Gamma was invincible, and I was right!" 

"Not yet..." Rock whispered threateningly as he became green. "That hasn't been proven yet, you madman! Say hello to my little friend!" He threw a Search Snake, and it landed on Wily's head. The mad doctor stared at it. 

"You think THAT little nothing is going to beat me? HA!" The Search Snake crawled forward and disappeared into the space between Gamma's chest and his head. "Eh? What is it-" There was the sound of an explosion from deep within Gamma, and smoke began pouring out of the gap. "WHAT?" 

"Looks like your invincibility is highly overrated." Mega quipped. The mad doctor rounded on him, eyes blazing. 

"ENOUGH!" Gamma's hand swept up, and with a cry of surprise, Rock dived off it moments before the entire section of scaffolding was crushed in Gamma's grip. Wily didn't let up for a second as his enemy landed on the waist-level girder; Gamma's belt moved upward, revealing a ring of lasers around its waist. Mega's eyes widened. 

"CRAP!" Frantically, he leaped towards the remaining ladder on the left wall and clung to it as the lasers obliterated the girder. Panicking, he tried to climb up higher, but Gamma ripped out the ladder above him with one hand, and the ladder below him with the other, leaving Mega clinging to the tiny portion that remained in despair, with nowhere to go. Wily laughed in triumph. 

"You have harmed a god, Mega Man! For that, you shall perish! Goodbye, Mega Man!" The spiked fist swung towards him, wristblades out in case he should try to jump over or drop under. In less than a second, he would be dead; nothing more than a smear on the wall. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had lost. 

"No..." Mega Man croaked. Time seemed to slow down as the fist of his death moved towards him, as he thought what he knew would be his last thoughts. _No... nothing works, and I am dead... Wily has won, has claimed the world, for none can dispute Gamma as his reason of domination... I have failed the world... I have failed my family and friends... I have failed myself. I couldn't do it, I'm no hero, I'm not Mega Man, I'm just stupid, pathetic little Rock with his Master Weapons that couldn't work. Needle Cannon, Magnet Missile, Hard Knuckle, Gemini Beam, Spark Shot, Shadow Blade, Search Snake... none of them worked. _A glimmer of a thought came to him. _Wasn't there one more? Something wrong with it... something broken... the Top Spin. That malfunctioning, incomplete slag..._ He had an odd idea, and laughed. _Why not? Might as well go down with some semblance of hope! And at least they can say I fought to the very end... I'll do it! Here I come, Wily!_

To this day, what happened at that moment has never been fully explained. The best theory offered is that Rock's spirit, his decision to go down with one last attack, spread through his robotic brain down the circuits to the weapons data as he selected it, and somehow purified it. 

**_TOP SPIN FULL FUNCTIONALITY RESTORED. _**The message flashed across Rock's vision, and he froze. The fist was now no more than ten feet away, and time was still slow. 

_Full... functionality... restored..._ As he realized this, he suddenly saw. He saw how he might win. It would be the biggest gamble of all time; banking everything on an ability he did not even know. And chances were likely that it would prove too much for him, that he would die anyways, in effect commiting suicide. But it was a chance... for the world. Rock mentally opened up the command menu for his innermost workings. 

_TRANSFER ALL MASTER WEAPONS ENERGY TO TOP SPIN! _He commanded. 

**_WARNING: REQUESTED COMMAND IS CRITICALLY DANGEROUS. WILL RESULT IN PERMANENT LOSS OF ALL MASTER WEAPONS DATA. HIGH CHANCE OF TOTAL SYSTEM FAILURE FROM ENERGY OVERLOAD AS WELL. CONFIRM? _**

YES, DAMN IT ALL! The fist was no more than five feet away now. 

**_CONFIRMED. TRANSFERING MASTER WEAPONS ENERGY... NOW._** The other seven Master Weapons energy bars faded from his view, and the energy for the Top Spin began glowing with blinding white. 

"HERE GOES!!!" Screaming, Rock launched himself off of the ladder, directly at the fist, clad in colors of shining gold and silver. And then he began to spin. He span faster and faster, and as he span, he began glowing with energy. His speed increased too fast to see; in less than a second, Rock could no longer seen, and had become a whirling dervish of glowing light, launching itself straight at the fist that would spell his doom. 

Gamma was the Ultimate War Machine, and his armor had been built as such. He had been designed to withstand any method of attack. He had been designed to take anything short of a nuclear weapon without a scratch. He had been designed to be invincible. But Gamma had not been designed with the full force of a power strong enough to destroy a city concentrated on one small point in mind. 

The whirling spirit of energy that Rock had become collided with the fist that could squash a building, but he did not stop. Indeed, he could not stop. He bored into the fist, through the multiple layers of ten-foot-thick armor of the strongest alloys, and he sliced through it as if it were cheese, emerging through the shoulder with a horrible grinding noise. Dr. Albert Wily's jaw reached the floor, and his eyes looked as if they were about to fly out of his head into the stratosphere. He fell back, toppling out of his chair and clutching his chest, as Gamma's right arm fell away, nothing more than a detached hunk of slag. Rock hovered in the air above the sparking hole for a moment. Just a moment, nothing more, without stopping his intense spinning for a second. And then, he struck again, blasting into the right shoulder and traveling down the length of that arm as well before blazing out of the palm. The other arm didn't even bother falling off; it just exploded into nothingness. Rock didn't stop there; he systematically went for the legs next, crisscrossing between them from the bottom up to the torso, leaving them the equivalent of swiss cheese. 

"No..." Wily choked. "No, you shall not win! I still have the main cannon!" He stumbled forward and pressed a button, and Gamma's chestplate slid down, revealing a blaster the size of several city buses. Energy began coalescing about it, as it prepared to fire a blast that would obliterate Skull Fortress and continue onward for fifty miles before disappating. Rock hovered in front of it for a moment, still spinnning, then charged forward, meeting that horrendous blast head on. Wily cheered as he saw his nemesis disappear. 

"YES! DIE, ROCK! DIE!" And then, the cockpit began flashing red, and klaxons blared. A message flashed on a monitor. 

__

MAIN CANNON DESTROYED. ENERGEN CRYSTAL CORE BREACHED. FATAL DAMAGE TO ULTIMATE WAR MACHINE GAMMA. 

"NOOOOOO!!!!" The mad doctor howled. From below, he heard a horrible grinding. And then, the spinning blast of energy emerged from the floor. Wily had only a fleeting glimpse of a face filled with terrible rage before something gripped his arm, and he was dragged after Rock as he blasted through the top of the control pod. The two of them fell down, Rock's spinning finally stopped. And behind them, the Ultimate War Machine toppled over, explosions covering its entire remaining body. The two of them landed on the meager remnants of the first girder, the one that was connected to the outside room. Rock held Wily's arm in his hand; he had pulled him from Gamma seconds before the explosion. The mad doctor backed away, trembling from the power he had just seen displayed. 

"Rock... Rock..." 

"A robot must not harm a human being." Rock sighed. "I know. That's why I saved you. Don't even try to plead or beg; it won't work. You're through, Wily." 

"Rock..." Wily said again, still backing away. Suddenly, Gamma's body detonated, the Energen Core finally exploding, and the entire wall it was up against was blown away. The chamber began collapsing. Wily looked around frantically. 

"Rock! We need to get out of here! Teleport!" 

"A robot must not harm a human being!" Rock yelled. He dove forward, trying to grab the doctor again, but he was too late. A massive clod of rubble fell from the ceiling, directly at Wily, who screamed and reached out his hand. 

"NOOO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! ROCK, HELP ME! SAVE MEEEE!" And then, the rubble landed, squishing the insane Dr. Albert Wily into a pancake. Rock stared dumbly at it. 

"He's dead... Wily's dead..." Was it relief in his voice? Fear that he would be blamed? Or even sadness? We shall never know. For at that moment, another massive clod of rubble fell on Rock as well. He didn't even scream. A moment later, the metal shutter opened, and a single humanoid figure came through. 

"Mega Man? Where are yo... oh, no!" He ran forward and shoved the crushing clod off. "He's still alive... barely... what the?" He touched Mega, and the blackened armor completely fell off, revealing that his entire skin was covered in horrible energy burns. "What did you DO to yourself? And where's Wi-" His gaze traveled over to the second pile of rubble in horror. A trickle of blood was there. "No... too late..." He bowed his head in mourning, then picked Rock up. "I need to concentrate on the living... on saving his life." He teleported out, bearing the clinging-to-life Rock with him and leaving Skull Fortress to collapse. 

A moment later, the nuclear strike obliterated every trace of Skull Fortress, of the Ultimate War Machine known as Gamma, and of Dr. Albert Wily. 


	18. Epilogue

**__**

Epilogue: Whistling The Blues 

"Uhn..." Rock slowly opened his eyes. He was home, back in the Light household, lying on the operation table. And to put it frankly, he felt like shit. Groaning, he tilted his head to look around. Roll was standing next to him, looking concerned. Dr. Light sat in the chair near the computer. And over by the door, leaning against a wall, was... "Break Man?" 

"You got it." The red robot waved. "I arrived right after everything was done... seems I waited too long to get started after you. I hauled you back here, and they patched you up." 

"At great personal cost." Roll commented. "We had to work for twelve hours straight, and I'm afraid your armor was completely insalvagable. What did you DO?" 

"Ugh..." Rock moaned. "Oh, nothing much. I just exceeded the safe range of my Master Weapon energy storage by about eight times via transfering all their energy to the Top Spin..." 

"WHAT?!" Roll screamed, grabbing his shoulders. "YOU IDIOT, THAT WAS SUICIDE!" 

"I was gonna die anyway." Rock told her. "No other way out. I figured what the hell, it was worth a shot. And it worked, didn't it?" Roll backed off. 

"Yeah... sorry. It's just that... Rock, you seriously looked like a corpse. For the first six hours, we really thought you weren't going to make it." 

"I know..." Rock smiled faintly. "I'm not going to be pulling that again. And I won't be needing my armor any more..." He sighed. "Wily is-" 

"We know." Dr. Light told him. "Your friend told us. Don't worry about anybody blaming you; everybody knows you just saved the entire planet, and a lot of people wanted Al dead anyways. You won't get in any trouble." He smiled sadly. "I mourn him... although he was insane, before that, Al was my closest friend. But at least it's all over now... it's finally over..." 

"Yes..." Rock sat up, wincing. "Both Doc Man and Wily are dead... the world is finally safe." He frowned. "Speaking of that... there's something we need to talk about right now." Dr. Light blinked. 

"What's that?" 

"We can't let the public know about Doc Man." Rock said, looking at his family and Break Man decisively. "Only seven people knew Doc Man was really behind the Rebellion. Richolds, Wily and Doc Man himself are all dead. That leaves the four of us." 

"What do you mean, the public can't know?" Roll asked. From a corner, Break Man harrumphed. 

"Use your head, girl. The first two Robot Rebellions were disastrous, yes, but it was a HUMAN behind them. Wily. This, one, though-almost the entire Third Robot Rebellion was brought about by a ROBOT. Many people still consider Robot Masters a danger. After the first Rebellion, the six Lighttech models were discontinued. If word gets out that this Rebellion was nearly entirely robot-caused, that humans had no hand in it aside from Gamma's theft... it's very possible that all Robot Masters in the world would be destroyed, including us." He shook his head. "No... this isn't a truth the world's ready for yet. The four of us will have to be the only ones who know the truth. To the public, we'll say Wily was behind the entire thing again, and Doc Man was just his tool." 

"Will anybody ever know the truth?" Dr. Light asked sadly. "Will we ever be able to tell anybody else what really happened?" 

"Only time will tell..." Mega Man sighed. "But I think it would be a good idea to keep a record. A secret file, telling the truth behind everything. The truths that the public can't know. Call it a hunch, but I think we'll need it some day." The holovid rang. Roll checked it and groaned. 

"It's that imbecile Vinkus... probably called to gloat about being right about Wily. Now that everything's safe, he'll have reverted to normal." 

"Don't answer it." Break Man suggested. Rock shook his head. 

"Can't. He's on the United Nations." 

"Next time you see him, tell him your vidphone just broke now." The red robot added. Dr. Light blinked. 

"But our vidphone isn't brokCRAP!" He cursed as the machine in discussion exploded. Break Man changed his arm cannon back into a hand. 

"It is now." 

"Thanks." Roll said sarcastically. 

"No charge." 

"Just one thing remains, then..." Rock looked over at his red rival. "You. Your explanation... all of it." Break Man smiled. 

"I suppose it is overdue..." He closed his eye, and began whistling. But this time, he didn't stop after five notes, but continued on to a longer, beautiful tune as he put his hand to his face. 

"Dad? What's wrong?" Roll asked. Dr. Light was frozen, unmoving. 

"That whistle..." 

"I thought you'd recognize it..." There was a click, and Break Man pulled his hand away. Rock and Roll both gasped. He was holding his "face" in his hands; it had been a mask. Now, for the first time, his true face was revealed. He looked very human, just as much as Rock and Roll. But that wasn't the only similarity; just as Rock and Roll had certain similarites in their faces, so did Break Man. He looked for all the world like Rock would if he aged a few years, save his height. He was smirking, and his eyes were covered by large sunglasses. 

"Break Man?" Rock mouthed. The red robot shook his head. 

"No way. That was just an alias. My name... is Blues." He walked over and embraced Rock. "You have no idea how hard it was to keep this a secret, bro." 

"Blues?!" Roll looked like she was in shock. Her older brother hugged her as well. 

"Yup, sis. Blues. I'm your big bro." He then turned to Dr. Light. "Dad... it's been way too long." 

"Blues..." The old robotocist's eyes were full of tears as he gave his oldest son a bear hug. "But where have you BEEN? All those years since the teleporter accident..." 

"Well, for most of them..." He smiled sheepishly. "In the middle of the African jungles, actually. That's where it plonked me. It messed up my mind a bit too; my sense of direction was shot, which is why it took me so long to het out. Even after that, it took me about a year to get back here. I came trudging through that forest out back one night, and who do I run into but Uncle Al. Now, understand that I had absolutely no knowledge of what had been going on for the past years. I thought he was the same old cranky guy who built me. Well, he lost no time in taking advantage of my innocence..." Rock snorted. "What?" 

"You? Innocent?" He struggled not to laugh. "I doubt YOU were EVER innocent." 

"Well, I was more innocent than I am now, okay?" Blues protested. "Can I get on with my story? Thanks. Anyways, he told me not to go on, that there was nothing there. That some crazy blue robot had destroyed the place and killed you, dad. Now, this made me understandably pissed. So when Wily asked me to help me take the blue maniac who was declaring war on humans our, I joined up gladly. He took me to what he told me was one of your fortresses, Mega, that he had captured, and sent me out to get some crystals that he needed and that you also wanted. The only truthful thing he said was that the mines were being held by some hostile unknown agent. As you probably already know, as time went on, I realized that Rocky was nothing like what Wily had said. Eventually, I got ahold of some old news stuff about the first two Rebellions, and I realized what was going on. However, I didn't let on to Wily about this; I remained in his service as an inside agent for the day when Rock stormed Skull Fortress. And that's basically my story." 

"Wow..." Rock shook his head. "That's... a lot of trouble." 

"Tell me about it." Blues smiled. "As a matter of fact, I feel like going out to those same woods out back just to think. Coming, Rock?" His brother jumped down from the table. 

"Yeah, let's go."   
"Hold on..." Blues concentrated, and his armor disappeared, replaced by ordinary clothes like Rock wore, although he still kept his yellow scarf. His hair was black. "Okay, let's go." They walked out together. Roll started to accompany them, but Dr. Light held her back. 

"No, Roll. Leave them be. This is important." 

"What's so important about it that I can't come along?" She asked. 

"For a long time, Roll, they were enemies. Even when they moved up to rivals, they fought with each other very seriously. And they're brothers. They just need some time alone." 

"All right..." Roll agreed. "Instead... can we look at your old design notebook?" Dr. Light smiled. 

"Roll, that sounds like an excellent idea." Together, the old man and the young girl left the laboratory. 

*** 

On a cliff overlookig the Pacific Ocean, two young men sat on the grass amidst the trees. One was garbed in blue, the other in red. Neither of them spoke; they just sat there, watching the clouds and the waves. A moth fluttered over and perched on the older one's sungalsses; he waved it off, and it flew out over the ocean. The two brothers remained there for quite some time, until the sun had set and they were watching the stars instead. The whole time, neither spoke a word. They didn't need to. They both knew, and understood. 

Then, as one, they got up, turned, and walked back home. 

**__**

Author's Note 

Well, my second Novelization is done. It didn't take me as long as my first one, Chrono Trigger, but hey, I think it was shorter too (as is expected, being as the game isn't nearly as long). Those of you who have also read CT might notice I'm doing this Author's Note in first-person unlike the other. It's just easier, and at this moment I am WAY leaning towards easier. Oy. Anyways, I've recently had to change this around a bit. Seems the bigwigs at FF.net, for some bizarre reason, have outlawed putting Author's Notes as seperate chapters. So I had to stick this in with the Epilogue. Losers. They're staying different if I ever stick this up somewhere else, though. 

Okay, enough about that. As before, Credits and Copyright first. This Novelization is copy me, Magus523. The game itself is Copyright Capcom, and so are all characters etc. that are related. I really wish I could claim Doc Man as mine, since I basically defined his character here by myself, but I can't. Froid and Richolds are mine, though (although they're dead), and so is Dr. Corbun, so don't get any ideas. Don't get any ideas about the Novelization, either; lawyer's son speaking, I can tell you that any attempts at claiming this as your own or making money off it will be VERY painful for you. Now, the other credits. First off, thanks go to Deathscythe11062, my little brother, and Editor. He reads through my stuff to make sure I don't have any errors. Thanks, bro. Next, a big thanks to who I consider the heads of Mega Man Fanfiction: Erico, Maelgrim, Red Draco, and Lex. Particularly Maelgrim; his novelization of Mega Man 1 was what gave me the idea for having Doccy as a lead villain in the first place. 

Okay, we might as well get that out of the way now. Why did I make Doc Man the mastermind behind the Third Robot Rebellion? Well, early on I knew Wily wasn't the one behind it. It would be counterproductive; he WANTS Gamma completed, albeit for his own evil purposes, and the mess at the mines delays that. I needed another lead villain, and Doc was in the perfect position. Maelgrim's idea of him being the Copy Robot in MM1 gave him motivation, and bingo! He's probably my second favorite character here because of all the character development I built for him. My favorite, of course, is Break Man. Oops, sorry, I meant Blues. And for those of you not-knowing-of-japanese-things, he'll pick up the Proto Man moniker in the MM4 Novelization. Yes, I'm going to be writing one; there's way too much left to be told of the Mega Man story. Not right away, though; I'm doing something else first. Patience. 

Anyways, a bigger thanks to Erico too. He's a longtime friend o' mine and the guy who got me started writing the first place. Plus, he's a damn good writer. If you haven't already, go check out his stuff. As a matter of fact, check all of those four. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. Finally, one last group thank-you: To the guys at Hazard Labs, for... well... for being the guys at Hazard Labs. Yeah. You know what I'm talking about, even if no one else does. 

Next big question: Why, out of all those games, Mega Man 3? Well, it was the first one I ever played, for one. Also, it was early, but not too early; it seemed a good place to begin. As I've said, Maelgrim's already written an excellent Mega Man 1 novelization. Maybe in a few years, if nobody else had written a great Mega Man 2, I'll go back and do it. But that's far in the future. Back on track. Another reason is that once I realized what I could do with him, I just couldn't resist playing around with Doc Man. And the final major reason: Gamma. I mean, who DOESN'T love giant robots that can destroy cities? You in the back, sit back down before I throw a Union Worker at you. 

Now we're at the Q&A section. This is where I answer questions that reviewers have asked. ...There, that was easy, wasn't it? 

And finally, the end part of the Author's Note: The self-musing crap. Looking back, I can see a definate curve on the quality of this Novelization. I think it definately picks up near the end. For the most part, I think my first Novelization, CT, was better. But this was more challenging, because there wasn't nearly as much story; it was also a lot better for me as a writer. Challenge yourself, kids. It'll improve your skills, trust me. 

Well, that's the end of that. No, wait, one more question to answer. What's my next project? It's not MM4; I'm going to try alternating between one Mega Man Novelization and one of something else and see how that works. So what am I delving into? A game series that sees lots of fanfiction, but seems very sadly deprived on the Novelization front from what I've seen. Something which I aim to change. 

Saddle up your Power Suit... we're hunting Metroid. 

__

-Magus523, September 2003 


End file.
